Definitive List of 168 Spam Words To Avoid [2024]

Smart email marketers of today know that avoiding the use of certain spam words can prevent their emails from being routed to the spam folder.

Imagine spending hours crafting the perfect email marketing campaign, only to be blocked by spam filters and your email campaign never to be delivered to your recipients’ inboxes.

Read on to learn more about:

• what email spam trigger words are
• why email campaigns can end up in the spam folder
• which spam words to avoid using

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What Are Spam Trigger Words?

Spam trigger words are keywords and phrases that email service providers (such as Gmail and Outlook) identify as red flags. When they see an email with these words or phrases, they direct it to the spam folder instead of the regular inbox.

Generally, spam words are words that can be associated with scams, overpromising, money, manipulative language causing unnecessary pressure on the recipient, and finally shady things.

Using such words in your email subject lines radically increases the chances you have of triggering spam filters. But sometimes words alone aren’t enough to cause problems. Context is also important, so if you’re true to what you’re advertising, then you shouldn’t run into trouble.

Now let’s see what else can cause your emails to go to the spam folder.

Why Email Campaigns Can Go To Spam

There are a number of factors affecting whether email providers will send your email campaigns straight to spam. Senders can also get on email blacklists, meaning that they’ve repeatedly sent emails to people who never opted in to receive those emails.

Let’s see the most common reason why emails may be sent to spam:

• There is no unsubscribe button: Giving people the option to unsubscribe from receiving your marketing messages is mandatory. This is due to the GDPR rules in place and the CAN-SPAM Act.
• You use capital letters or too much punctuation: Flooding your subject line (or parts of your email) with ALL CAPS is a definite way to trigger spam filters. The same applies to extreme punctuation like “!!!!!!” or “??????.” If you want to attract attention, try placing an emoji instead of capital letters which look like you’re shouting to the reader.
• Email structure is broken or has glitchy code: A poorly-built HTML email can trigger spam filters. If the email design doesn’t render well, readers will probably have a bad user experience and they’ll regret opening it in the first place. Try keeping your emails as simple as possible and be extra careful with HTML templates you find on the Internet. You can always use the email newsletter templates your email marketing service provides, which are also mobile-friendly.
• There are grammatical mistakes or typos: Always proofread your email copy for errors. Poorly written emails are often caught by anti-spam filters.
• Email contains links to dangerous websites: Use links carefully when building your campaigns. Spam filters are very sensitive to links that lead to dodgy websites that are full of viruses or malicious content.
• You use strange or colorful fonts: Weird fonts make it harder for recipients to read and they are likely to trigger spam filters. Similarly, using different color fonts (to emphasize the message) like red and blue can have the same effect.
• You don’t use email authentication: To make your emails more secure and protect your domain, you can set up authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM and DMARC. These protocols provide an extra “layer” of authenticity to your emails and help you avoid the spam folder.
• Your email list contains invalid or non-existent email addresses: If you’ve purchased an email list, chances are that the email addresses on it don’t know your brand. As a result, you’ll be having high bounce rates and you risk getting flagged as a spammer. Purchased email lists may also contain spam traps, which can seriously harm your email deliverability altogether.

Now that you know what to steer clear of, let’s find out the spam words you should avoid using!

Email Spam Words To Avoid

Below you’ll find the ultimate list of words to avoid using in your subject lines and email campaigns in general.

Ecommerce

1. Buy
2. Buy direct
3. Buy today
4. Clearance
5. As seen on
6. Order
7. Order status
8. Sample
9. Wants credit card
10. Claim now
11. Act now
12. This won’t last
13. Expires soon
14. Limited time
15. Exclusive deal
16. Urgent
17. 100%
18. 50% off
19. All-new
20. Best price
21. All-natural
22. 100% satisfaction
23. Lifetime

Urgency

1. Do it today!
2. Act now!
3. Act fast!
4. Apply now
5. Apply online
6. Access fast
7. Call now
8. Call free
9. Instant access
10. Don’t hesitate
11. For you
12. Instant
13. Now
14. Now only
15. Order expires
16. Please read
17. Take action now
18. While supplies last
19. One time only
20. Click this link
21. Click to remove
22. Final call
23. Hurry up
24. Immediately
25. This won’t last
26. Top urgent
27. Last chance
28. Claim your prize
29. New customers only
30. Important information regarding

Financial

1. Money Back
2. Dollars
3. Cash
4. Profit
5. $$$
6. Big bucks
7. Fast cash
8. Extra cash
9. Get paid
10. Credit
11. Debit
12. Billion
13. Cash Bonus
14. Best price
15. Bonus
16. Double your income
17. Free Investment
18. Lowest interest rate
19. No strings attached
20. Risk-free
21. Serious cash
22. Save money
23. Best rates
24. Unsecured credit
25. Pure profit
26. Best mortgage rates
27. Extra income
28. Credit card offers
29. No hidden fees
30. No hidden charges
31. No hidden costs
32. US dollars
33. Allowance
34. Action required
35. Why pay more?
36. You are a winner
37. You are selected
38. Very cheap
39. Avoid bankruptcy
40. Financial independence
41. Online biz opportunity
42. Risk-free
43. Pre-approved
44. Winner
45. Offshore

Legal

1. Loans
2. Luxury
3. Accept credit cards
4. Beneficiary
5. Claims
6. Claims to be legal

Shady or Unethical Behavior

1. Dear friend
2. Direct email
3. Bulk email
4. Mass email
5. Confidentiality
6. Cancel any time
7. Congratulations
8. No catch
9. No costs
10. No gimmicks
11. Human growth hormone
12. Not spam
13. No obligation
14. Babes
15. Cutie
16. Kinky
17. Mature
18. Viagra
19. Valium
20. Vicodin
21. Weight loss
22. Xanax
23. Lose weight fast
24. Stop aging
25. Cure baldness
26. Miracle
27. This is not a scam
28. This is not fraud
29. Not junk
30. No questions asked
31. Internet marketing
32. Multi-level marketing
33. Direct marketing
34. Click below to access
35. Meet singles
36. Social security number
37. Search engine
38. Internet traffic
39. Password
40. Requires initial investment
41. Your income
42. Get out of debt

Marketing

1. Click
2. Click below
3. Click here to remove
4. Re:
5. Ad
6. Auto email removal
7. Email marketing
8. Email harvest
9. Direct marketing
10. Internet marketing
11. Internet market
12. Increase sales
13. Increase traffic
14. Marketing solutions
15. Mass email
16. Bulk email
17. Direct email
18. More internet traffic
19. Notspam
20. Performance
21. We hate spam
22. Will not believe your eyes
23. Undisclosed recipient

Context Is Key When Using Spam Words

Bypassing spam filters is easy as long as you follow email marketing best practices and use the above spam words only within context. Spam filters have become more advanced, so the use of a single word won’t cause any harm as long as your email content is aligned with what you’re offering or promising to the receiver.

What you mustn’t ignore is to always personalize your emails and conduct A/B testing in order to establish what works best for your audience and optimize your strategy accordingly.