I'm usually pretty laid back in regards to what I call irrelevant e-mails (I don't like to call them 'spam' when they are from fellow real estate agents or others in the industry). I don't send nasty replies back, i don't unsubscribe...I read the interesting ones, or I just click 'Delete'.
Now that listings are piling up everywhere, I get dozens of e-mails promoting them every day, so many that I can't possibly open and read them all. E-mails with titles like, "Gorgeous New Construction", "5% SOC", "Price Reduced", etc, etc, etc.
Now, these are fine titles. But for me, and perhaps for those of us who have decided to focus on a particular area or go by the 30 mile/30 minute guideline for showing homes, it irks me a little that there is no indication of where the property is located within the title of the e-mail.
Furthermore, when bulk e-mails come from a 3rd party server, such as I-Flyer, I'm not even able to see the name of the agent who sent me the e-mail. That would be one small clue for me as to where this particular listing is located; at that point, I can decide whether or not I want to open the file.
Perhaps agents use the line of reasoning that, "the less information the better". I agree, when it's a flyer located in a flyer box outside of a house; at least you know where the property is. Perhaps people think that the recipient will be intrigued so much by the title that they'll just have to click on the file to get more information.
For me, personally, I doubt that, especially with the massive amounts of e-mails that end up in our boxes. I really don't like opening up a flyer just to read about a property that's obviously way too far away for me to have any buyers for. I wonder how I end up on their list.
What I'm trying to do right now is make a database for all the agents in my area, and all of the ones I come in contact with, and I do it by zip code. When I get a listing in a particular zip code, I send it to only those agents, and perhaps in the surrounding zip codes as well. What I don't do (anymore!) send a listing to a blanket 10,000 agents just because they're in Washington State.
So, basically what I've started to do since I'm overwhelmed is to only open e-mails that state a specific location. The rest? I just 'delete'. And that's the rule I'm sticking to. I like to support my fellow agents, but I have to take steps to manage my time better.
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