This article explains how to use custom attributes in Hunter to personalize email sequences at scale. It’s for users who want to insert recipient-specific details (like preferences, industries, or links) into their emails to improve reply rates and relevance.
What is a custom attribute?
A custom attribute is a user-defined field that stores personalized information about a lead. You can insert this information into your email sequences so each recipient receives tailored content automatically.
You can store single words or entire text blocks as custom attributes. This is especially useful for dynamic intros or icebreakers.
Examples of custom attributes:
First or last names
Industry
Company type
Job title
Preferences (e.g. favourite tools, interests)
Custom icebreakers
Personalized URLs (e.g. blog posts)
💡 See an example
💡 See an example
If your lead Juliette prefers espresso in the morning, you can associate this lead with a custom attribute called Morning Drink with the value espresso
When you use this attribute in a sequence, the email content will automatically adapt for Juliette to the attribute we associated with her lead.
How to set up custom attributes
Hunter offers some built-in attributes ready ot be used in your email content, and allows you to set up your own custom attributes for even more personalization.
Hunter's default attributes
Hunter offers built-in custom attributes you can use right away when creating the content for your email sequences or templates. These default attributes are:
Company
Email
First name
Full name
Industry
Job title
Last name
Sender name
Website
These attributes can be selected when creating your email content in the content editor by clicking on Insert attribute.
Custom attributes
If you wish to add a new attribute that isn't already available in Hunter, you can set up a custom attribute.
Setting up your own custom attribute involves two steps:
Set up the custom attribute
Map your leads to the custom attribute
First step: Set up a custom attribute
To do so, visit the Custom Attribute section in your Leads configurations section and define a new attribute.
You will need to give the attribute a Name, a Default value* and a Description.
*The default value is a value that will be used if a custom attribute has not been set for a specific lead.
Second step: associate your leads with custom attributes
After creating a custom attribute, you need to assign it to your leads.
You can do this in two ways:
In bulk: import your leads using a CSV file that includes the custom attribute column.
Individually: manually edit each lead and set the attribute value.
Option 1: Associate new or existing leads with a custom attribute in bulk (CSV import)
Option 1: Associate new or existing leads with a custom attribute in bulk (CSV import)
To update new or existing leads in bulk, simply import a CSV file containing your leads, with a column for the custom attribute name and the respective values for each lead.
💡If you need to update existing leads in Hunter in bulk with a new custom attribute, export your lead list, add the new attribute column to the CSV file, and re-import it as explained below.
You can import your leads via CSV file in the Import leads section
Next, you can map your columns to a newly created or existing attribute, e.g., Morning Drink.
💡 You can also create a new custom attribute when mapping the columns by scrolling down to the bottom of the attributes selector and clicking on "create a new attribute" if you haven't set up any yet. This will bring you the custom attributes set up.
The next step allows you to configure the import by choosing whether to override any of your data by Hunter (paid plan), which leads list to save these contacts to, and how to handle existing contacts, which is important if you're re-importing a list of leads already in Hunter.
🔗 More on leads import configuration can be found here.
When you successfully import your list of Leads into Hunter, you'll see something similar.
💡If you can't see the custom attribute column, make sure you toggled the view by going to the right of your leads list and clicking on the plus (+) sign. Now select Custom and toggle the columns you wish to see, and select Update.
Option 2: Associate single leads with custom attributes (individual edits)
Option 2: Associate single leads with custom attributes (individual edits)
You can also manually edit and associate existing leads with custom attributes by making individual edits.
To do so:
Click your lead to open the contact card, then select Edit.
Add the attribute you want to associate with your lead at the bottom of the edit page.
Click on Update
💡 You also have the option to create a new custom attribute from inside the contact card. This will then automatically be added to the Custom Attributes section for all leads. Click on + New custom attribute.
How to add an attribute to your email sequence
You can use attributes in the email content inside the Content section of your email sequence.
👉 To add a custom attribute, just click where you want to include the attribute in the email content, and then click the Insert attribute button { } as shown in the screenshot below.
Choose the attribute you want to use from the dropdown list, and set a fallback text to use if the attribute is missing for a recipient.
The content will automatically be saved, and you can review how each recipient's email looks in the Review section of your email sequence.
ℹ️ Custom attributes can be included in the email body and the subject line.
Adding a custom attribute URL
Custom attribute URLs let you store a unique link for each lead (for example, a blog post) and reuse it dynamically in your email content.
Instead of manually inserting links—or showing long, spammy URLs—you can reference the attribute in your sequence. Hunter automatically inserts the correct link for each lead while keeping the email clean and readable.
How to add a custom attribute URL:
Highlight the text you want to turn into a hyperlink.
Next, click the Insert link button at the bottom of the editor.
To add a custom attribute URL, click the Attribute tab and select your custom attribute from the dropdown list.*
Click on Insert, and the URL attribute linked to each recipient will now automatically be added to the content of your emails.
*You can use one of the following options to include a URL in your sequence:
Web address to add a URL and have it be the same for all your recipients (common link inserting)
Attribute to have a unique URL attribute for each recipient.
💡Custom attributes will not appear in test emails sent to you. This also applies to specific existing attributes, except for first/last names and company name attributes, which will function as expected.