Dynamic Images
Your emails can now render a different image for every lead, personalized from the values you already have in your CSV. Drop a column of image URLs, mark it as "Image URL" during import, insert the variable in your template, and every recipient sees their own image in the inbox.
A New Field Type for Custom Variables
Custom variables used to be a single flavor: plain text. Now they have a type toggle: Text or Image URL. The difference matters at send time:
- Text variables render inline: `{{company_name}}` becomes "Acme Corp" in the email body.
- Image URL variables render as actual images: `{{logo_url}}` becomes an `<img>` tag loading that lead's unique logo.
The toggle is available wherever you work with custom fields - in the CSV import mapping screen and in the lead side-sheet when adding a column manually.
Clean Renders, No Broken Icons
If a lead is missing a value for an image column, MailBeast removes the image tag entirely from that lead's email rather than shipping a broken-image icon. The rest of the email renders untouched. You can use image variables freely across a campaign where only some leads have image data - the others just get text.
Empty link wrappers (when an image was inside a clickable `<a>`) are cleaned up too. No orphan hyperlinks, no visible evidence that an image was supposed to be there.
Works with Any Image Source
Anywhere you can get a URL, you can use it:
- Clearbit Logo API - `logo.clearbit.com/<domain>` gives you a free per-lead company logo.
- Cloudinary / Imgix / S3 / R2 - your own hosted images.
- Hyperise / Nifty Images / Pitchlane - template URLs that dynamically render with merge tags (`?first_name={{first_name}}&company={{company_name}}`).
Just drop the URL in your CSV. No API integrations required - MailBeast substitutes the value at send time like any other variable.
Personalized Video at Scale
Video in cold email has always been constrained by email client limitations: no mainstream client renders `<video>` tags reliably, so attached or embedded videos either don't play or get stripped. The industry workaround is universal: send an animated GIF thumbnail and link it to a landing page where the real video plays.
Dynamic Images makes this a two-column workflow:
1. Add a `video_thumbnail` column (Image URL type) with the animated thumbnail.
2. Add a `video_link` column with the landing page URL.
3. Wrap the image in a link in your template:
Every major personalized-video tool already outputs both URLs per prospect: Sendspark, Vidyard, Loom, Hippo Video, Bonjoro. Export their CSVs, concatenate with your lead list, import into MailBeast, and your template sends personalized video thumbnails at scale - each one clicking through to a landing page unique to that recipient.
Visual Cues in the Leads Table
Columns in the leads table now show a small type icon in the header - `Aa` for text columns, a picture icon for image columns. You can tell at a glance which of your custom fields are visual, even before inspecting any lead.
The same icons appear in the variable picker in the email editor, with an extra `IMG` badge on image-typed variables. Clicking them inserts a ready-made `<img>` tag instead of a plain merge tag.
How to Try It
1. Open any campaign and go to Leads.
2. Click Import CSV and upload a file with at least one image URL column (logo, avatar, screenshot, thumbnail - any).
3. On the mapping screen, confirm the column is set to Custom Variable with type Image URL. If it's an auto-detected name it's already set.
4. Finish the import.
5. Open the sequence editor, type `{{` in the body, select your image variable. The editor inserts the image markup.
6. Send a test email to yourself and see it render.
Missing Features?
We are constantly improving the platform. If you miss any features or have ideas - you can always use the Roadmap button through the Chat in the bottom right corner of your screen to request whatever you miss.
