The Ultimate List of 394 Email Spam Trigger Words to Avoid in 2023

After spending hours creating an email marketing campaign, the last thing you want to do is get blocked by your recipients’ spam filters. Luckily, by avoiding common email spam trigger words, you can successfully prevent your emails from getting routed to spam folders.

Not only does spam email marketing betray the trust of customers, but it can also contain malware and viruses. Ultimately, you’ll want to avoid sending spam emails because your customers won’t read them.

Let’s look at what spam trigger words are, what gets emails sent to spam, and which spam words you should avoid when creating your email campaigns.

Spam filters can be triggered for a variety of reasons, causing your email to skip recipients' inboxes and land straight in their spam inbox. One of the easiest ways to avoid spam filters is by carefully choosing the words you use in your email's subject line.

Trigger words are known to cause problems and increase the chances of your email getting caught in a spam trap. By avoiding these words in your email subject lines, you can dramatically increase your chances of getting beyond the filters.

Spam trigger words alone aren’t enough to send your email to spam. For instance, if you are offering a 3-for-1 discount sale, you can still advertise that in your emails and not get sent to spam. It’s important to understand all the factors that come into play when emails get identified as spam.

What causes emails to go to spam?

Email providers look for a number of factors when deciding whether to automatically send your emails to spam. If you’ve made it on an email blacklist, that means you’ve repeatedly sent emails to recipients who haven’t signed up for your email list.

Your emails can get sent to spam if you:

Don’t include an unsubscribe button in your email: It’s best to give recipients the option to opt-out of emails. Provide an unsubscribe link. Send poorly-designed emails with broken or glitchy code: Poorly-designed emails create an unpleasant reading experience. Readers will regret opening your note in the first place if the format is hard to read and the design doesn’t render properly. Address your recipient by “my friend” or “dear” (or not by their name): To get the best results, add a personal touch in the subject line or message to increase your open rate and provide a better customer experience. Buy email lists online and mass-send messages to email addresses that don’t exist (resulting in a high bounce rate): Not only do the recipients not know you, you could quickly ruin your IP reputation and put your email deliverability at risk. If you do business in Europe, buying email lists could also be a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which requires explicit permission from your contacts to send them emails. Use all-caps text and extreme punctuation (!!!!! or ?????): Many spam detecting software will automatically register emails formatted in all-caps as spam. It also doesn’t help to look like you’re shouting at the reader. Include strangely formatted fonts (𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘): Similar to using all-caps, weird fonts are more difficult to read and are likely to trigger spam detecting software. Provide links to fraudulent websites: This should be obvious, but never link to fraudulent websites in your emails. It’s harmful to your contacts and undermines your credibility.

Now that you know what not to do, let’s go over some best practices to ensure your emails steer clear of spam folders.

How to Become a High-Reputation Email Sender

Email providers only want to deliver emails from high-reputation senders. To be a high-reputation sender, do the following:

Include an unsubscribe button: Communication is a two-way street. Ensure your contacts can opt-out if they choose by placing an unsubscribe link in your email. Design your emails with clean code using a tool such as Marketing Hub: Take the guesswork out of designing emails. With these tools, your emails will open glitch-free every time. Personalize your emails with the recipient’s first name: 71% of consumers expect email personalization. Address them by name and watch as your open rates improve. Only email those who’ve subscribed to your email list: If you don’t have any, you should learn to naturally increase your email list subscribers. Keep your email deliverability high: Doing the tasks above will improve deliverability but you should also make sure you are compliant with the legal guidelines in your region. Most marketing software is compliant with web laws but if you’re handling email in-house, you’ll want to double check your emails are compliant. Keep the text free of odd formatting and extraneous punctuation: Clean and clear copy ensures your note is easy to read and dodges spam detectors. Only link out to reputable websites: Only link to reputable sites you trust. After all, your reputation is on the line. Don’t lose credibility by sending your contacts to shady websites.

If you meet these criteria, you can get away with using “classic” email spam words in your subject line and your email. The text surrounding the spam phrase also matters, as does your history as an email sender. If email providers don’t have a reason to mistrust you, they simply won’t.

Email Spam Words to Avoid

When writing your email subject lines, you want to avoid:

Over-sensationalizing Over-promising Using strange formatting to “stand out” in the recipient’s inbox

Next time you sit down to write an email subject line, consult the exhaustive list below. In fact, you might want to bookmark this list so you can refer back to it every time you craft an email subject line.

Commerce

As seen on Buy Buy direct Buying judgments Clearance Order Order status Orders shipped by shopper

Personal

Dig up dirt on friends Meet singles Score with babes XXX Near you

Employment

Additional income Be your own boss Compete for your business Double your Earn $ Earn extra cash Earn per week Expect to earn Extra income Home based Home employment Homebased business Income from home Make $ Make money Money making Online biz opportunity Online degree Opportunity Potential earnings University diplomas While you sleep Work at home Work from home

Financial - General

$$$ Affordable Bargain Beneficiary Best price Big bucks Cash Cash bonus Cashcashcash Cents on the dollar Cheap Check Claims Collect Compare rates Cost Credit Credit bureaus Discount Earn Easy terms F r e e Fast cash For just $XXX Hidden assets hidden charges Income Incredible deal Insurance Investment Loans Lowest price Million dollars Money Money back Mortgage Mortgage rates No cost No fees One hundred percent free Only $ Pennies a day Price Profits Pure profit Quote Refinance Save $ Save big money Save up to Serious cash Subject to credit They keep your money — no refund! Unsecured credit Unsecured debt US dollars Why pay more?

Financial - Business

Accept credit cards Cards accepted Check or money order Credit card offers Explode your business Full refund Investment decision No credit check No hidden Costs No investment Requires initial investment Sent in compliance Stock alert Stock disclaimer statement Stock pick

Financial - Personal

Avoice bankruptcy Calling creditors Collect child support Consolidate debt and credit Consolidate your debt Eliminate bad credit Eliminate debt Financially independent Get out of debt Get paid Lower interest rate Lower monthly payment Lower your mortgage rate Lowest insurance rates Pre-approved Refinance home Social security number Your income

General

Acceptance Accordingly Avoid Chance Dormant Freedom Here Hidden Home Leave Lifetime Lose Maintained Medium Miracle Never Passwords Problem Remove Reverses Sample Satisfaction Solution Stop Success Teen Wife

Greetings

Dear [email/friend/somebody] Friend Hello

Marketing

Ad Auto email removal Bulk email Click Click below Click here Click to remove Direct email Direct marketing Email harvest Email marketing Form Increase sales Increase traffic Increase your sales Internet market Internet marketing Marketing Marketing solutions Mass email Member Month trial offer More Internet Traffic Multi level marketing Notspam One time mailing Online marketing Open Opt in Performance Removal instructions Sale Sales Search engine listings Search engines Subscribe The following form This isn't junk This isn't spam Undisclosed recipient Unsubscribe Visit our website We hate spam Web traffic Will not believe your eyes

Medical

Cures baldness Diagnostic Fast Viagra delivery Human growth hormone Life insurance Lose weight Lose weight spam Medicine No medical exams Online pharmacy Removes wrinkles Reverses aging Stop snoring Valium Viagra Vicodin Weight loss Xanax

Numbers

#1 100% free 100% satisfied 4U 50% off Billion Billion dollars Join millions Join millions of Americans Million One hundred percent guaranteed Thousands

Offers

Being a member Billing address Call Cannot be combined with any other offer Confidentially on all orders Deal Financial freedom Gift certificate Giving away Guarantee Have you been turned down? If only it were that easy Important information regarding In accordance with laws Long distance phone offer Mail in order form Message contains Name brand Nigerian No age restrictions No catch No claim forms No disappointment No experience No gimmick No inventory No middleman No obligation No purchase necessary No questions asked No selling No strings attached No-obligation Not intended Obligation Off shore Offer Per day Per week Priority mail Prize Prizes Produced and sent out Reserves the right Shopping spree Stuff on sale Terms and conditions The best rates They’re just giving it away Trial Unlimited Unsolicited Vacation Vacation offers Warranty We honor all Weekend getaway What are you waiting for? Who really wins? Win Winner Winning Won You are a winner! You have been selected You’re a Winner!

Calls-to-Action

Cancel at any time Compare Copy accurately Get Give it away Print form signature Print out and fax See for yourself Sign up free today

Free

Free Free access Free cell phone Free consultation Free DVD Free gift Free grant money Free hosting Free installation Free Instant Free investment Free leads Free membership Free money Free offer Free preview Free priority mail Free quote Free sample Free trial Free website

Descriptions/Adjectives

All natural All new Amazing Certified Congratulations Drastically reduced Fantastic deal For free Guaranteed It’s effective Outstanding values Promise you Real thing Risk free Satisfaction guaranteed

Sense of Urgency

Access Act now! Apply now Apply online Call free Call now Can't live without Do it today Don't delete Don't hesitate For instant access For Only For you Get it now Get started now Great offer Info you requested Information you requested Instant Limited time New customers only Now Now only Offer expires Once in lifetime One time Only Order now Order today Please read Special promotion Supplies are limited Take action now Time limited Urgent While supplies last

Nouns

Addresses on CD Beverage Bonus Brand new pager Cable converter Casino Celebrity Copy DVDs Laser printer Legal Luxury car New domain extensions Phone Rolex Stainless steel

Use Spam Trigger Words Sparingly and Within Context

So long as you use email marketing best practices and use spam trigger words within context, you can bypass spam filters. Spam filters have become much more sophisticated in recent years. Using one or two phrases won’t hurt you, but make sure to only email customers who want to hear from you and to always personalize your emails. Doing so will optimize the results of your campaign and keep you out of spam folders.

Thank you for reading this post from HubSpot.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.