130 Spam Words to Avoid: How to Stay Out of Email Spam Folders

130 Spam Words to Avoid in Email Marketing

What is Spam Trigger Words?

Spam trigger words, also known as spam keywords, are certain words or phrases that are commonly used in spam emails and can trigger email filters to flag a message as spam. These words are often used by marketers to try and boost the visibility of their emails, but they can also harm the deliverability of the message.

Email deliverability is the ability of an email to reach the intended recipient's inbox. Spam trigger words can negatively impact deliverability because they trigger spam filters that are set up by email providers such as Google (Gmail, Google Workspace) and Microsoft (Outlook, Hotmail, Live). When an email is flagged as spam, it is often automatically sent to the recipient's spam folder, which negatively affects the domain reputation and email trust score.

The categories of spam trigger words include words related to money, such as "earn money fast", "double your cash", and "make money". Phrases that include exclamation points, such as "Congratulations!" and "You're a winner!" are also commonly flagged as spam. Words that suggest urgency, such as "Act Now!" and "Don't Delete!", can also trigger spam filters.

It can be challenging to exclude words from an email template, as it requires careful review of the content and close attention to the wording. It's also important to keep in mind that different email clients use different spam filters, so what may be considered spam by one provider may not be by another.

To avoid using spam trigger words in your email marketing, it's essential to use language that is natural and not overly salesy. Avoid using excessive capitalization, exclamation points, and words that suggest urgency. Instead, focus on providing valuable content that will be of interest to your audience.

Why It's Important to Avoid Spam Trigger Words in Email Marketing?

The list provided below contains 130 commonly used spam trigger words that can negatively impact the deliverability of your emails. It is crucial to eliminate these words from your email templates and refrain from using them in the future. To make it easier for you to navigate, these words have been divided into four main categories:

  1. Financial: These are words that are related to money, financing, and debt.

  2. Urgency: These are words that create a sense of urgency or pressure to take action, such as "act now" or "limited time offer".

  3. Personal: These are words that are personal in nature, such as "congratulations" or "your name".

  4. Miscellaneous: These are words that do not fit into the other categories. By avoiding these words in your email templates, you can improve the chances of your emails reaching the intended recipient's inbox.

130 Commonly Used Spam Trigger Words

Urgency/Pressure words:

  • Avoid

  • Act now

  • Be your own boss

  • Bonus

  • Cards accepted

  • Direct e-mail

  • Earn extra cash

  • Easy cash

  • Easy terms

  • Exclusive deal

  • Get

  • Get started now

  • Guarantee

  • Hidden

  • Incredible deal

  • Increase

  • Limited time

  • Lowest price

  • Meet singles

  • No catch

  • No fees

  • No risk

  • No strings attached

  • Not junk

  • Not spam

  • Now

  • Order

  • Outstanding value

  • Performance

  • Prize

  • Promise

  • Pure profit

  • Quote

  • Risk-free

  • Time limited

  • Trial

  • Urgent

  • Weekly

  • You are a winner

  • Zero percent interest

  • Zero risk

  • Call

Financial/Money-related words

  • 100% free

  • 100% financing

  • 100% guaranteed

  • 100% satisfied

  • Accept credit cards

  • Consolidate debt and credit

  • Consolidate your debt

  • Cents on the dollar

  • Cheap

  • Check or money order

  • Collect child support

  • Credit

  • Credit card offers

  • Eliminate bad credit

  • Eliminate debt

  • Financially independent

  • Full refund

  • Get out of debt

  • Get paid

  • Grant money

  • Income

  • Increase sales

  • Make money

  • Money

  • Mortgage

  • Multi-level marketing

  • No credit check

  • No hidden costs

  • No hidden fees

  • No interest

  • No investment

  • No purchase necessary

  • Pre-approved

  • Refinance home

  • Requires initial investment

  • Save

  • Save big money

  • Save up to

  • Stock disclaimer statement

  • Stock market

  • Stock pick

  • US dollars

Miscellaneous words

  • All new

  • Amazing

  • Apply now

  • Apply online

  • Avoid bankruptcy

  • Beautiful

  • Buy

  • Buy direct

  • Buy now

  • Earn

  • !!!

  • Hot

  • Score with

  • Luxury

  • As seen on

  • Problem

  • Opportunity

  • Instant

  • Won

  • Work from home

  • Call me

  • Limited

  • Extra

Personal words

  • Congratulations

  • Dear friend

  • Employment

  • Free

  • Host

  • Info

  • Investment

  • Leads

  • Memberships

  • Offer

  • Preview

  • Join millions

  • Lifetime

  • Lower interest rate

  • Lower monthly payment

  • Lower your mortgage rate

  • Lowest insurance rates

  • Your family

  • Your income

  • Your name

  • Your price

  • Your satisfaction

  • Your’s

Conclusion

In conclusion, using spam trigger words can negatively impact the deliverability of an email and should be avoided. Careful review of the content and attention to wording is required. Regularly check your email's deliverability rate and address any issues that may arise. Remember that your domain reputation and email trust score are crucial to manage on a daily basis. If it gets damaged, there is no easy and quick way to restore it. One of the few solutions is to migrate the domain to a new email infrastructure and start warming up the domain and IP addresses from the very beginning until you build some confidence around the domain.

If you require help with checking your email content to ensure it does not contain spam trigger words, you are welcome to drop us an email at info@alexshakhov.com and we will go through the text to ensure it does not contain spam trigger words, so that you can send your emails with no risk of them being marked as spam.

Previous
Previous

Blast Off Your Email Deliverability: The Power of a Proper Warm-Up