To keep leads engaged, it's best practice to set up an e-Alert for every lead that relates to their property search. When a lead profile doesn't have one, BoomTown displays an e-Alert warning box at the top of the profile for quick access.
Ways to Create an e-Alert
e-Alerts can be created in four ways:
Visitor Saved Searches — When a lead saves a search on your website, they're prompted to select a send frequency. That search becomes an e-Alert in their profile automatically.
Automated (System) e-Alerts — BoomTown can automatically create e-Alerts for leads based on their browsing behavior, if this setting is enabled by your Broker/Admin.
Manually from the Lead Profile — Create a new e-Alert from scratch, from a template, or based on the lead's search history, all from the lead's Summary tab.
From the Searches Tab — Use a lead's past search activity as the starting point for a new e-Alert.
Create a Blank e-Alert
To create a new e-Alert from scratch:
Navigate to the lead's profile and scroll to the e-Alerts box in the Summary tab.
Click Blank e-Alert.
On the e-Alert creation page, set your location criteria using the tabs under Search By: Map, Location, Area, City, County, Zip Code, Neighborhood, and School.
How Location Tags work:
Selections from Location, Area, City, County, Zip Code, and Neighborhood expand results (OR logic).
Adding a selection from the School tab narrows results to only listings that match your other criteria AND the selected school district.
The Polygonal Map Tool tab works independently. Selections made there reset when switching to another tab, and vice versa.
Set your price range, property type, and bedroom/bathroom preferences.
Further refine with Property Features, Community Features, Exterior Features, Interior Features, Style, Financing, View, and Waterfront filters.
Important: Feature filters use AND logic, not OR. Selecting both "Marsh View" and "River View" returns only listings that have both features. If a lead wants either, create separate e-Alerts for each.
Set Listing Status, Title Status, and Keywords as needed. All available Listing Status checkboxes are checked by default — uncheck any you'd like to exclude.
Complete the required fields at the bottom and click Save Search.
Required Fields
Field | Description |
e-Alert Type | Buyer (New, Price Reduced, Under Contract, Pending, Sold) or Seller (Under Contract, Pending, Sold) |
Sent By | The agent the alert should come from |
To | Verify the lead's name is correct |
Email Subject | The name of the e-Alert and subject line sent with each update. Make it descriptive, e.g. "Charleston Waterfront under $750k" |
Mail To | Lead's email address — confirm the checkbox next to it is selected. Add additional addresses if needed. |
Frequency | How often the search runs. Default is Daily. Use less frequent settings for broad searches to avoid overwhelming the lead. |
Note on Email Subject: BoomTown automatically prepends the subject with listing activity, e.g. "4 Listing Updates for Charleston Waterfront under $750k." Your custom subject controls the second part of the subject line only.
After saving, you'll be returned to the Summary tab with a confirmation of the e-Alert's creation.
Create a Polygonal Map e-Alert
To define a custom search area on a map:
Navigate to the lead's profile and click Blank e-Alert.
The e-Alert creation page defaults to the Polygonal Map Tool tab.
Use the zoom slider or CTRL + Scroll to navigate to your target area.
Click the polygon icon (next to the hand tool) to activate the drawing tool.
Click once to start drawing, then click points on the map to define your shape.
Close the shape by clicking your starting point. White circles will appear at connection points — drag them to adjust the shape.
The Properties Found counter updates to show matching listings. Click View to preview them.
To redraw, click the drawing tool and start a new shape — your new selection replaces the previous one automatically.
Complete the remaining fields and click Save Search.
Note: Map pins won't display when previewing search results on your website, but the boundaries you've drawn are still applied to the results.
Create an e-Alert from Search History
To base an e-Alert on a search a lead has already performed:
Navigate to the lead's profile and select the Searches tab.
Click the row of the search you want to use, then click Create e-Alert on the left.
Review the pre-populated criteria and adjust as needed.
Complete the required fields at the bottom (same fields as above) and click Save Search.
You can also access this option by clicking Create e-Alert in Lead Central, or by selecting Create from Search History in the e-Alerts box on the lead's Summary tab.
Update an Existing e-Alert
To edit the criteria of an existing e-Alert:
Navigate to the lead's profile and scroll to the e-Alerts section.
Click the e-Alert title or the Edit this Search button.
Make your changes and click Save Search.
Important: The initial blast of all matching listings only fires when an e-Alert is first created. After that, only New, Price Reduced, Pending, Under Contract, and Sold listings that arise after the save are sent — existing listings that match updated criteria are not re-sent.
If you want the lead to receive all currently matching listings after an update, you have two options:
Delete and recreate the e-Alert — This triggers a new initial blast of all matching listings.
Send a manual email with the results link — After saving the updated criteria, click View next to the properties count to open the results on your BoomTown site. Copy the URL, then go to the lead's profile and use the Email button in their Actions panel to send the link.
Resend an e-Alert
If a lead wants to receive another copy of a previous e-Alert, the best approach is to send them all currently matching listings:
In the lead's profile, open the e-Alert and click Edit this Search (or click the e-Alert title).
Click View next to the properties count to open matching listings on your BoomTown website.
Copy the URL and paste it into a new email from the lead's profile.
Tip: For a cleaner look, type a word or phrase in the email body, highlight it, and use the link button to hyperlink to the URL instead of pasting it raw.
System e-Alerts (Automated)
System e-Alerts are automatically created by BoomTown based on a lead's browsing behavior. They save time but should still be reviewed and refined based on your conversations with the lead.
System e-Alerts are only created for leads that:
Have a valid email address
Registered more than 18 hours ago
Have viewed at least one Full Details listing page
Have never had an e-Alert created for them
Note: Even if a lead meets all criteria, System e-Alerts may not send until up to 24 hours after registration. The default frequency for System e-Alerts is Daily.
System e-Alert Settings (Broker/Admin Only)
This section applies to Broker/Admin users only.
To configure System e-Alert settings for your team, go to the Lead Emails Settings option in your right-hand dropdown menu.
From the e-Alerts Settings area at the top of the page, you have four options:
Setting | Options |
Allow Agents to turn on Automated e-Alerts? | Yes — agents can enable/disable for their own leads. No — disables System e-Alerts for the entire team. |
Allow Agents to turn OFF their Automated e-Alerts? | Yes — agents can opt out. No — forces System e-Alerts on for all agents. |
Enable Automated e-Alerts for my new buyer leads? | Yes/No — applies to your account only. |
Enable Automated e-Alerts for my new seller leads? | Yes/No — applies to your account only. |
Click Save after making any changes.