connectMLS email templates

connectMLS is an extremely flexible system and offers you many ways to customize your experience with your own personal touch. One of the more useful customizations you can do within connectMLS is to set up your own email templates. There are many different types of email messages that come out of the connectMLS system. It is a good idea to go through them, especially the ones you think you will use most frequently, and set them up with the wording, information and personalization you want. The system default templates are definitely good, but wouldn't it be nice to tailor them to your desires?

Go up to the top right corner of connectMLS, click your initials/photo and then My Settings:

Scroll down towards the bottom of the screen and click Email template defaults (in the My Defaults section):

You can now see a list of the many different types of email templates available in connectMLS. This window allows you to set the default template for each type of email:

In the image above, the orange section contains the email templates for different types of automated emails. The purple section has the templates for all of the other types of emails you can send from within connectMLS.

Each type of email has its own default, out-of-the-box template that is available to all SmartMLS users. It is advisable to check out each template to see if you are good with the default wording or if you would like to customize it to your liking.

To get started, just click the link (Click here to create or modify your email templates) towards the top of the page:

You can preveiw any template by using the Category drop down menu to select the desired template. Then, just look at the bottom half of the screen to see what the defaul wording and fields are. 

We'll use the Initial Notification Template as an example (this is the email that goes out when you have just set up an auto email to a client):

To create your own personalized version of this template:

1. Use the Category drop down to choose the type of email you want to work with:
   
   
   
   
2. The Templates drop down allows you to switch between the system template for that type of email and any custom templates you have created yourself. 
   
   If you have already created a customized version of the template, you can access it beneath My Email Templates:
   
   
   
   
   If you have not yet created any custom templates for the category you are looking at, it will show you the default template and there will not be anything beneath My Email Templates:
   
   
   
   At this point, you can start creating your own template. There is no special edit button you must click first. 
   
   
3. When creating your own custom template, you must give it a name. You can also adjust the Subject line and set it up as your default template for the current category.
   
   
4. The Fields drop down menu allows you to insert tags/placeholders within the message of the email. These tags will populate with the corresponding user, client or listing data:
   
   
   
   
   There is a limited number of fields you can use in your message, but it is definitely beneficial to add/remove them to give your message a more personal feel to the recipient.
   
   
5. This is where you design/preview the layout of your message. If you are using one of the tags from Fields list, click inside the message and get your cursor in the spot where you would like the tag. Then use Fields to select the specific tag you want in that spot. 
   
   Here is an example of how you can personalize your message to be more casual, yet still professional and effective:
   
   
   
   We have highlighted the field tags in orange so you can get a better idea of their placement within a message. Remember, the connectMLS system will automatically populate the corresponding information/data in the spots where the tags appear.
   
   
6. Put a check in the box to include your connectMLS business card. Click the link to see what yours looks like. Note: you can preview your business card by clicking your initials/photo in the top right corner of connectMLS and clicking Settings.
   
   
7. Remember to click one of the Save buttons when you are done. If you are creating a brand new template, click Save as New. If you are making changes to an existing template, click Save Changes.  

After you click either Save as New or Save Changes, it will bring you back to the screen that lists all of the different templates:

There is a Save button at the top of this screen as well. This save button is only necessary if you want to switch the template you are using from the system default to a custom template (if you have created one) or vice versa. If you do not want or need to switch your default template(s) at this time, you do not need to click Save on this screen.

Repeat this process for each template you want to customize. 

At minimum, we recommend setting up the Initial Notification (the message that goes out when you first set up an auto email), New/Changed Listing Notification (the message that is sent when new or changed listings are found for an auto email), General Client Message and Manual Listing Message (when you manually search for and email listings) templates. Those are the types of emails you will most likely be sending frequently.