Build a search once, save it as a Template, attach a tag, and every contact you tag with it gets that alert automatically. This replaces creating alerts one contact at a time.
RealScout gives you two ways to automate what happens to a contact after they arrive. Auto Nurture sends a general invitation. Tags plus Templates send a specific search you built. Most agents need both, used for different segments.
Confirm your setup supports tag automation
Tag-based automation depends on RealScout being able to see a tag on the contact. That happens in two situations: you tag the contact inside RealScout yourself, or the contact comes from a direct integration that sends tags, which means Follow Up Boss, Cloze, or BoldTrail (fka kvCORE) on an Enterprise plan.
Caution: Zapier cannot send tags to RealScout. If your contacts arrive through a Zap, nothing in this article will fire for them automatically. For those contacts, either set Auto Nurture to apply to all contacts, or apply a Template by hand from your Contacts page with More Actions → Create Alerts from a Template. See Using Zapier with RealScout: What Syncs, What Doesn't, and How to Set It Up.
Decide who Auto Nurture applies to
Go to Automations → Auto Nurture. The setting that matters most is the automation mode, and it has two options: every contact in your database, or only tagged contacts.
Choosing tagged contacts is the more controlled approach. You decide which contacts get a general invitation by applying a tag such as Auto Nurture, Realtor.com, or Zillow.com, either in RealScout or in your CRM. Everyone else stays untouched until you set them up deliberately.
Caution: Turning Auto Nurture on for everyone means every contact in your database gets a general alert invitation, including contacts you never intended to market to. Check this setting before assuming a Template you built is only reaching the segment you had in mind.
Auto Nurture checks for newly tagged contacts on an hourly cycle. For the full settings list, see Auto Nurture Settings and How to Configure for Your Account.
Choose the right Template type
A Template is a saved search or saved market alert you can apply to many contacts. There are two kinds, and they serve opposite sides of your business.
Template type | Best for | What the contact receives |
Listing Alert Template | Buyers | Listings matching the search criteria you set |
Market Activity Alert Template | Sellers | A market snapshot: recently sold, recently listed, and buyer demand for an area and price range |
Market Activity Alert Templates work for buyers too, if you want them to see what is selling in an area. They are strongest with sellers and potential sellers, especially alongside a Home Value Alert.
Create a Template
Go to Email Alerts → Templates
Choose the Listing Alert Templates or Market Activity Alert Templates tab
Click to create a new Template, or copy an existing search or alert you already built
Name it something you will recognize later, such as the area and price range
Turn on Send new alerts next day
Save
Note: Send new alerts next day matters more than it sounds. With it on, a contact receives their first alert the day after the Template is applied. With it off, the Template appears on their profile but the first send waits for the next scheduled cycle, which on a biweekly schedule can be two weeks away. Leave it off only when you are deliberately spacing sends, for example when a Home Value Alert is going out today.
The fastest way to build one is to run the search first, confirm the results look right, then copy it into a Template. For the full walkthrough, see Listing Alert Templates and Market Activity Alert Templates.
Attach a tag to turn a Template into an automation
A Template on its own is something you apply by hand. Adding a tag turns it into an automation.
Go to Email Alerts → Templates
Find your Template and click Setup Tag Automation
Enter the tag that should trigger this Template, creating it if it does not exist yet
Save
From that point on, any contact carrying that tag gets this alert, whether you tag them in RealScout or in a connected CRM such as Follow Up Boss, Cloze, or BoldTrail on an Enterprise plan.
Caution: Be specific with the tag. A broad tag like buyer means every contact you ever tag buyer receives this exact search, including buyers in other markets. A tag like Alameda Buyer 1M Plus only reaches the segment you intended. Use a separate tag for seller-focused Market Activity Alert Templates so a buyer tag never triggers a seller alert.
To correct a tag, open the Template and click Edit Tags, then remove the wrong tag and add the right one.
Tag contacts in RealScout
If you tag in your CRM already, that carries over and you can skip this. To tag inside RealScout:
Go to Contacts
Select the contacts you want to tag
Click More Actions
Add your tag, creating it if this is the first time you have used it
Save
To find those contacts again, click Filters, switch to the tags option, and search your tag name. Tags are spelling-sensitive, so a misspelled tag will not match the Template.
To skip tagging entirely and apply a Template right now, select your contacts, click More Actions, then choose Create Alerts from a Template. This applies the alert immediately rather than waiting for the hourly cycle.
Expect up to an hour, and know what cannot be undone
Tag-based automations run on an hourly check. After you apply a tag, the alert can take up to one hour to appear on the contact's profile. If the tag comes from a Follow Up Boss automation, allow additional time for the tag to reach RealScout before that check runs.
Caution: Applying the wrong Template cannot be undone retroactively. Removing or correcting the tag stops future contacts from matching, but it does not remove alerts already created. To undo those, go to Email Alerts → Listing Alerts or Email Alerts → Market Activity Alerts and disable the alert on the affected contacts.
For schedule options and how alerts are delivered, see Alert Settings & Schedule Overview.
Use activity tags to find your most engaged contacts
RealScout tags contacts based on what they do, with no setup required from you. Go to Automations → Tag Automations to see them. The Trigger column explains what each tag means.
RealScout Property Viewed means the contact viewed a property three or more times. Click the three-dot menu beside any tag to filter your Contacts page to just those contacts. That list is your follow-up priority.
Other activity tags cover saved and liked listings, Home Value Alert views, Market Activity Alert views, and showing requests. If you use Follow Up Boss, Cloze, or BoldTrail on an Enterprise plan, these tags travel back to your CRM, so you can act on RealScout activity without leaving it. See Using Tags in Follow Up Boss to Act on RealScout Activity.
Note: Activity tags are applied by RealScout, so they work on every contact regardless of how that contact arrived, including contacts created through Zapier.
Act on email error tags first
Three tags on the Tag Automations page take priority over everything else, because they affect whether your email reaches anyone at all:
RealScout Email Validation Failed, the address is not valid, often a typo
RealScout Email Spam Reported, the contact marked your email as spam
RealScout Email Rejected, the receiving server refused delivery
Filter to these contacts, select them, click More Actions, and archive them. Archiving turns off their alerts without deleting the profile and frees room in your nurtured count. See Email Deliverability for why these matter, and FUB Smart Lists for RealScout to surface them in Follow Up Boss instead.
Two action tags let you drive RealScout from your CRM. RealScout Disable Listing Alerts turns off all of a contact's listing alerts. RealScout Archive Contact archives them. Apply either in RealScout or in your CRM. See Tag Automations: Activity Tags, Action Tags & How to Act on Them for the complete list.
Frequently asked questions
Can I edit a Template after creating it?
No. Templates cannot be edited once created. Build a new Template with the corrected criteria, attach the tag to the new one, and delete the old Template so it stops being applied.
Does capitalization matter in my tags?
No, but spelling does. Tags are spelling-sensitive and not case-sensitive, so buyer and BUYER match, while buyr and buyer do not. A single character difference means the Template silently never applies.
What is the difference between Auto Nurture and a tagged Template?
Auto Nurture sends a general invitation to set up a search. A tagged Template sends a specific search you already built and confirmed. Use Auto Nurture for broad coverage of new contacts, and tagged Templates when you know what a segment is looking for.