595 Spam Trigger Words To Avoid to Prevent Your Emails from Going to Spam

When you pay per email subscriber, you want to make sure you're getting the most out of every email that you send. And when your emails land in spam, you aren't doing yourself any favors. That's why it's vital you avoid using spam trigger words that activate spam filters.

Even worse, every time your emails get marked as spam, it results in a derogatory “mark” on your IP address that can make the problem worse in the future.

In this article, we've compiled a list of 595 spam words that can trigger spam filters so you can avoid using them and make the most out of your email marketing.

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What Are Spam Trigger Words?

Did you know that roughly 1 in 6 emails are in the spam folder or blocked from the recipient's inbox altogether? Yikes!

Some spam trigger words aren't words or phrases that you would typically think of as spammy. However, they've been used in spammy or scammy emails in the past, so the algorithm has been trained to detect them.

In some cases, using certain spam trigger words or phrases might be unavoidable. And luckily, you'll usually only trigger spam filters when you stuff your emails and subject lines with them consistently.

The whole purpose of a spam filter is to ensure that email users receive only legitimate content they want to interact with. Your subscribers hate spam, and I'm willing to bet that you do too.

These filters aren't set up to make it feel impossible or difficult to be an online business owner: it's just the opposite.

595 Email Spam Trigger Words To Avoid

These spam words to avoid in your subject line and text are sorted alphabetically for easy reading and include the numbers and symbols you should avoid, too.

Numbers and Symbols

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Other Factors That Cause Emails to Go Straight to Spam

Other factors that contribute to your emails ending up in the spam folder include certain symbols, certain types of formatting, and more.

Here's a quick list of other items that hurt your email deliverability rates.

Context Matters With Spam Trigger Words

This list has over 500 spam trigger words to avoid – including symbols and phrases. And after reading it, you might panic and feel like you can never send a single email ever again — but not to worry. Context matters when it comes to email spam words.

Spam trigger words can alert the email provider spam filters of spammy content within your email.

However, if the contents of your email aren't actually spammy, you'll be okay in many cases. Spam filters get smarter and smarter by the day.

The spam words in this list trigger spam filters to monitor the content of your email, but they don't always mean your email will go directly to the spam folder.

Of course, what other people (and email provider spam filters) consider spammy might differ from what you consider spammy.

Consider the Implied Intent of the Words You Use

They also don't want you to fool or manipulate them into buying offers they don't really want or need. And that's the purpose of most spammy trigger words.

Read this list with a grain of salt and besides using spam words, also remember to avoid doing these things in your emails to stay out of the spam folder.

• Don't oversell your products. Allow your sales pages to do that, and give subscribers a gentle call to action to view your sales page.
• Don't over promise or make exaggerated claims.
• Avoid talking a lot about making money or money in general. Again, give subscribers a gentle nudge to head to a webpage where they can read your sales spiel, your latest blog post on making money, etc.
• Don't include a lot of pressure or urgency. If you have a sale running for a limited time only, let them know. But don't overdo it.
• Avoid overusing the words free, freebie, etc. If you're delivering a freebie or have a free gift for subscribers, you can tell them that and deliver it. Just don't overdo it.
• Don't ask for personal information.
• Use caution with medical language, terms, claims, etc.
• Avoid using email spam trigger words in your email subject lines.

Tips to Improve Your Email Deliverability Rates

Using spam words aren't the only thing to be careful of. If you want to increase your email sender reputation and improve your overall email deliverability rates, here are some quick tips.

Use Your Own Branded Domain For Links and Email

Using unbranded domains for links or your return email address can hurt your email campaign's deliverability rates.

Some email service providers will trigger certain URLs, like a landing page hosted on a site like ClickFunnels, without a custom domain.

Additionally, your return email address should always be from a branded domain.

Don't try to use a free email address like (name)@gmail.com – not only does this look unprofessional to your subscribers, it will also send your email directly to the spam folder.

Improve Your Overall Domain Reputation

If your IP address repeatedly gets marked as sending spammy emails, this can hurt… a lot.

If you frequently find that your emails consistently end up in the purgatory of spam folders, consider working on improving your domain reputation.

You can also get your WordPress site managed by experts at Iridium hosting. 

They offer exceptional management services that include email deliverability maintenance packages that help you sleep better at night.

Other Tips to Stay Out of The Spam Folder

• Use a double-opt-in process to make sure subscribers really want to be there.
• Segment your list and send emails specific to segment interests.
• Ask your subscribers what they want to hear about instead of just sending random emails.
• Set expectations in your welcome sequence: i.e. “I'll be popping into your inbox once a week to share the latest tips, trends, and free and paid resources about XYZ.”
• Remove inactive subscribers. Deleting people who never open or interact with your emails increases your overall email engagement rates.

Final Thoughts on Spam Trigger Words

It's very important to avoid using words and phrases in your email subject line that are common in spam emails. Having your emails sent to spam can hurt you in more ways than one and hurt your overall email deliverability rates. And if you want to be your own boss, this is key.

Luckily with this list knowing spam words to avoid isn't as difficult as it might seem. A lot of these words or phrases are words that you might need to use in certain marketing emails, but they won't always activate a spam filter.

Remember that context matters when it comes to email marketing. If your email campaigns aren't actually spammy, you should be safe.

If you do have to use spam words in some of your emails, remember to use them in moderation. Email spam filters will pick up on repeated use of spam words which will damage your sender reputation over time.

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