Create and Use Custom Fields

Custom Fields let you add your own data categories to contacts (like leads or clients) and outreach emails. This helps you tailor Orkap to your specific needs, making it easier to sort, filter, and personalize your work.

Benefits for Contacts: You can add details like a contact's favorite color, budget range, or referral source. This info shows up in your contact list and can be used to filter searches or insert into emails automatically.

Benefits for Outreach: For emails, you can track things like campaign status or follow-up notes, helping you categorize and find emails quickly among thousands.

Overall Flexibility: No limits on how many you create, and they work seamlessly across contacts and emails.

In short, Custom Fields turn Orkap into a personalized database that fits your business like a glove.

Available Field Types

Orkap gives you 7 different types of fields to choose from. Each one is designed for a specific kind of data, and they all work the same way whether you're using them for contacts, outreach, or both. Here's a simple breakdown:

• Text: For short, simple entries like a name, email, or quick note. (Example: "Company Name".)
• Number: For numeric data only, like prices or quantities. (Example: "Annual Revenue".)
• Date: Lets you pick a date from a calendar popup. (Example: "Last Contact Date".)
• Long Text: For longer descriptions or paragraphs. It's like a mini notepad. (Example: "Client Notes".)
• Dropdown: A list of predefined options where you pick one. You set the options when creating the field. (Example: "Lead Source".)
• Checkbox: For multiple choices from a list. Check as many as apply. (Example: "Interests". Options like "Product A", "Product B", "Service C". You could check two or more.)
• Radio: Similar to dropdown but shows as buttons for single selection only. (Example: "Priority Level". Options like "High", "Medium", "Low". Select just one.)

These types ensure you can handle any kind of data without complications.

Accessing Custom Fields

You can get to Custom Fields from the contacts. This makes it easy to add them on the fly or manage them properly.

• From the Contacts Interface: This is great for quick additions while you're working with your contact list.

We'll cover how to create them in the next section, but remember: once created, they appear automatically in the right places (like contact edits or email sidebars).

Creating Custom Fields: Step-by-Step

You can create Custom Fields from the contacts > Custom Field. Let's walk through each.

Creating from the Contacts Section

This is handy if you're already in your contact list and realize you need a new field.

1. Open the Contacts Area: Log into Orkap and click on the "Contacts" tab or section in the main menu. You'll see your list of contacts.
2. Start Adding a Contact or Column: Click the "Add Contact" button (usually at the top of the page).
3. Choose to Add a Column: In the popup or form that appears, look for an option like "Add Column" (this adds a new Custom Field as a column in your contact table).
4. Configure the Field Details:
   • Name: Give it a friendly name, like "Website URL". This is what shows up in your lists.
   • Slug: This is an auto-generated short code (like "website-url"). It's used behind the scenes for technical stuff, but you can edit it if needed. Keep it simple, lowercase, with dashes instead of spaces.
   • Field Type: Pick one from the 7 types listed above (e.g., "Text" for a website link).
   • Apply For (Application Scope): Decide where it should appear: "Contacts" only, "Outreach" only, or "Both".
5. Save It: Click "Add Column" or "Save". The new field will now show as a column in your Contacts view, and you can start using it right away.

Using Custom Fields: Step-by-Step

Once created, Custom Fields are ready to use in two main areas: Contacts and Outreach (emails). Here's how.

Using Custom Fields in Contacts

Custom Fields make your contact list more powerful by adding columns and edit options.

• View in Contacts List: Go to the Contacts section. Your new fields appear as extra columns in the table (e.g., a "Website URL" column next to names and emails).
• Add Data When Creating a New Contact:
  • Click "Add Contact".
  • Fill in the standard info, then look for your Custom Fields in the form.
  • Enter data (e.g., type "www.example.com" in the Website URL field).
  • Save the contact.
• Add or Edit Data for Existing Contacts:
  • Find a contact in the list and click "Edit" (3 dot icon).
  • Scroll to the Custom Fields section in the edit form.
  • Input or update the info (e.g., add a date or select from a dropdown).
  • Save changes.

Using Custom Fields in Outreach

This is super useful for managing campaigns and tracking email-specific details.

1. Open an Email: Go to your Mailbox or Inbox in Orkap. Click on any email (sent or received, but typically for outreach mails you've sent).
2. Find the Sidebar: On the right side of the email view, there's a sidebar with settings (like tags or notes).
3. Locate Custom Fields: Scroll to the "Custom Fields" section in that sidebar.
4. Input Data: For each relevant field (based on what you set to Apply For "Outreach" or "Both"), enter the info. (E.g., check boxes for campaign types or add a number for response score.)
5. Save and Use: Changes save automatically or via a Save button. Now, this data is tied to that email.

Real Life examples of Using Custom Fields

Here’s some real life examples of using custom fields.

in Contacts

Adding/Editing Data on a Contact

1. Open or edit an existing contact's profile.
2. Scroll down to find your custom fields section.
3. Fill in or select the relevant information for that contact (e.g., set "Make a Deal" to "Yes").
4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Filtering Contacts

1. From your main Contacts list view, look for the column headers.
2. Your custom fields will appear as columns (e.g., "Make a Deal").
3. Use the table filters to view all contacts based on custom field values (e.g., all contacts where "Make a Deal" is set to "Yes").

On Outreach

Using Fields During Outreach Creation

When creating a new outreach campaign, any field set to apply for "Outreach" or "Both" will be available. Use this to categorize your outreaches (e.g., "Campaign Type: Follow-Up").

Filtering Past Outreaches

Filter your list of past outreach campaigns based on their custom field values to analyze performance by type, offer, or any other custom metric.

Dynamic Personalization

Use merge tags in email templates to pull data from both standard and custom fields.

Example: "I saw your website at {{website_url}} and noticed your listing at {{listing_page_url}}. Since your profile indicated you're open to {{make_a_deal}}, I wanted to reach out..."

Best Practices

• Plan Your Fields: Before creating many fields, plan what data is crucial for your segmentation and personalization strategy.
• Use Descriptive Names: Choose clear "Column Names" so anyone on your team understands what the field is for (e.g., "Lead Quality" is better than "LQ").
• Leverage Dropdowns: Use dropdown, radio, or checkbox fields for data that should be consistent (like statuses or categories).
• Consistent Data Entry: Ensure your team follows the same conventions when entering data into text-based custom fields.