The junk folder: the place where emails go to die.
“Surely, it won’t happen to me,” you think as you hit send on that beautifully crafted marketing email that took you nearly a week to perfect. But one wrong word and your beloved email lands up right between “Hot singles in your area want to meet you” and “Make money from home.”
It doesn’t matter how crafty and compelling your email was. It will never be opened, it will never be read, and worse – it will never convert.
Your email isn’t spam and you promise you have something worthwhile to say. But the internet doesn’t care. You used spam trigger words, so you’re forever damned to the depths of the spam folder. Okay, well, not forever. One in five emails ends up in the spam folder. If you found yourself there, shake it off and try again – but avoid using words that are obvious red flags for spam filters.
How spam filters work
Email service providers (ESPs) have spam filters in place that weed out the email weaklings. This includes harmful scams, but also sometimes filters out poor quality emails. ESPs score emails based on different variables – and spammy words are just one of these. If your email scores too high, it’s sent straight to the spam folder. That’s why it’s crucial to create an email that avoids as many of these spam filters as possible.
Before we go over the comprehensive list of spam trigger words to avoid in 2022 – here are a few general content guidelines for your email content to ensure that your next killer email doesn’t go to waste.
- Capital letters are like garlic…
Use them sparingly or you’ll ruin the whole thing. dOn’T dO tHiS, obviously, but ALSO AVOID DOING THIS. - Be punctual about punctuation
There’s a time and place for excessive exclamation or question marks. We can’t tell you when or where that is, but it’s definitely not in your subject line or email. Avoid this!!!! And keep it to two exclamation/question marks max in your subject line. - Keep it simple, keep it short
This isn’t War and Peace – it’s a quick email you want people to read on their lunch break. Your subject line shouldn’t be longer than 50 characters and your email body shouldn’t exceed 500 characters. If you can’t get away with a short email, break the text up into shorter paragraphs. - Don’t stuff, overload, inundate, cram your subject line with keywords
Sure, you want to use the relevant terms, but it’s hard to write a coherent sentence while trying to squeeze all your best keywords into it. Spam filters will definitely pick up on the lack of quality. - Check your spelling
Before your spelling wrecks you. Typos are a massive spam filter no-no. - Less to-whom-it-may-concern, more authenticity
Write in an authentic tone. Not only will this pass spam filters, but it’s also more likely to grab attention. A good strategy is to write like you’re sending to one person – and then send it to thousands. - Test for the best
Always A/B test your subject lines. A quality subject line tells spam filters that your email is legitimate – and is bound to improve your open rate.
Email Spam Words to Avoid
Okay, enough housekeeping. Here’s our list of words to avoid in your subject lines and emails if you want to go straight to the inbox. It may seem impossible to avoid using some of these – that’s okay. Spam folders are quite advanced when it comes to picking up if a word is used in context. (It’s when you use “free leads, free gift, free services,” and “cancel any time” that you’re in trouble, so use them sparingly.)
Competitions
- Congratulations
- Giving away
- Prize
- Who really wins?
- You are a winner!/You’re a winner!
- You have been selected
eCommerce
- Confidentially on all orders
- Order today
- Orders shipped by
- Outstanding values
- Sample
- Wants credit card
- What are you waiting for?
Money
- $$$
- Avoid bankruptcy
- Be your own boss
- Beneficiary
- Big bucks
- Billion dollars
- Cash bonus
- Consolidate your debt
- Costs
- Discount
- Double your income
- Earn extra cash
- Easy terms
- Eliminate bad credit
- Financial freedom
- For just $X
- Home employment
- Investment decision
- Money making
- No fees
- One time
- Pre-approved
- Risk-free
- Save up to
- Social security number
- US dollars
- Why pay more?
- Work from home
Health and medical
- All-natural
- Cures baldness
- Don’t hesitate
- Human growth hormone
- Insurance
- Life Insurance
- Lose weight
- Medicine
- No medical exams
- Removes wrinkles
- Reverses aging
- Stop snoring
- Weight loss
Promotions
- 100% free
- Billing address
- Cancel at any time
- Dear (email/friend/somebody)
- Free gift
- Free sample
- Free trial
- Full refund
- Get started now
- Gift certificate
- Great offer
- Important information regarding
- Information you requested
- Message contains X
- No catch
- Offer
- Please read
- Special promotion
- Supplies are limited
- This isn’t junk
- This isn’t spam
- Trial
- We hate spam
Sales
- Affordable
- As seen on
- Bargain
- Cheap
- Clearance
- F r e e
- Free consultation
- Get it now
- Have you been turned down?
- limited time
- Mail-in order form
- Money back
- No questions asked
- No strings attached
- No-obligation
- Now only
- Quote
- Success
- This isn’t a scam
- This won’t last
- Urgent
- While supplies last
General
- Celebrity
- Chance
- Congratulations
- Form
- Friend
- Hello
- Luxury car
- Meet singles
- Passwords
- Priority mail
- Real thing
- Removal instructions
- Round the world
- Score with babes
- Shopper
- Teen
- Undisclosed recipient
- Unsolicited
That’s it from us, get ready to show up in the inbox!
