Email Spam Words You Should Avoid

Have you ever made a cake or an amazing meal and then just dropped it on the ground? Remember how disappointing it felt?

Now imagine perfecting an email campaign just for it to get eaten alive by spam filters because of a poor choice of words on your end. The feeling of disappointment would be just as bad, right?

To help you avoid landing yourself in this situation, the outreach team at Mailtrap and I did some research and testing using our own cold email and regular campaigns and came up with 8 categories of email spam words you should avoid to achieve better email deliverability and open rates.

So, if you’re curious to see our findings, then keep reading!

How do email spam words work?

While for many, including myself, spam filters can be a bit of a mystery, understanding email spam trigger words is quite straightforward.

A spam word, in most cases, is a keyword or phrase used to create urgency or simply grab attention by being sensational, very promotional, or in connection to a sensitive topic. That being said, some very common marketing language can also be seen as spammy when used in the wrong context, but more on that a bit later.

Who keeps an eye out for spam words? Well, besides spam filters set up by email service providers that are trying to spot gimmicks, overpromises, multi-level marketing, and shady activities, email recipients themselves can be triggered by these words and decide to mark emails containing them as spam folder-worthy.

Are email subject lines the only part of an email where certain words are deemed as red flags? No, in reality, emails can contain spam words in different elements, including:

email body
header information
hyperlinks and anchor text
image alt text
email footer and signature
email HTML and CSS code
attachment names or within attached files

Email spam word categories

As mentioned in the intro, through some research and testing, my outreach team and I have compiled a list of spam words you should avoid using completely or at least be careful with. To make the list more scannable, I divided the words into several categories, and we’ll now go through each one.

Important: What you’ll see below is not a definite list of words that will trigger spam filters and email recipients. Creating a list of that sort is technically not doable as spammers change their shady strategies and scams often, thus making the list of email spam words ever-growing. So do keep in mind that even though you won’t find every spam word out there on our list, you can use the list to get a general idea of what should be avoided in your email marketing campaigns.

Financial and monetary offers:

“Earn”
“Discount”
“Pure profit”
“Credit”
“Investment”
“Loan”
“Save”
“Million dollars”
“Financial freedom”
“Get paid”
“Bankruptcy”
“Refinance”
“Money back”
“Debt”
“Extra income”
“No fees”
“Best rates”
“Cash bonus”
“Extra cash”
“Easy money”
“Penny stocks”
“Wealth”
“No hidden charges”
“No hidden costs”
“Be your own boss”
“Unsecured credit”
“Lower interest rates”
“Accept credit cards”
“Best mortgage rates”
“Cashback”

Urgency and scarcity:

“Limited offer”
“Act now”
“Exclusive”
“Urgent”
“Immediate”
“Deadline”
“Only a few left”
“Hurry”
“Last chance”
“Today only”
“Final hours”
“While supplies last”
“One time”
“Expires”
“Never again”
“Don’t miss”
“Rush”
“Time-sensitive”
“Offer expires”
“Instant access”
“Closing soon”
“Final call”
“Once in a lifetime”
“Limited time”
“Now or never”
“Flash sale”
“Countdown”
“Last minute deal”
“Rare opportunity”
“Ends tonight”

Marketing and sales promotions:

“Offer”
“Buy now”
“Free”
“Serious bargain”
“Best price”
“Deal”
“Special promotion”
“Winner”
“Discount”
“Special offer”
“Giveaway”
“Bonus”
“Cheap”
“Trial”
“Free gift”
“Prize”
“Coupon”
“Clearance”
“Sale”
“All new”
“No obligation”
“Limited time offer”
“Exclusive deal”
“Save big”
“Bargain hunter’s dream”
“Hurry, while supplies last”
“Risk-free”
“Act now”
“Once-in-a-lifetime”
“Mega sale”

Health and pharmaceuticals:

“Viagra”
“Weight loss”
“Pharmaceuticals”
“Supplement”
“Herbal”
“Cure”
“Medicine”
“Natural”
“Pills”
“Drugs”
“Diet”
“Remedy”
“Treatment”
“Healthcare”
“Therapy”
“Prescription”
“Pharmacy”
“Body”
“Healing”
“Wellness”
“Detox”
“Clinic”
“Vaccine”
“Organic”
“Fitness”
“Nutrition”
“Therapeutics”
“Supplements”
“Well-being”
“Antioxidant”

Personal and confidential claims:

“Private”
“Confidential”
“Winner”
“Selected”
“Guaranteed”
“Personal”
“Secret”
“Exclusive access”
“Membership”
“You have been chosen”
“Claim”
“Beneficiary”
“Award”
“Pre-approved”
“Eligible”
“Certified”
“Not shared”
“Sensitive”
“Protection”
“Verified”
“Urgent”
“Limited time”
“Priority access”
“Restricted information”
“Top secret”
“Special offer”
“Confidential deal”
“Privileged”
“Exclusive rights”
“Secure claim”

Exaggerated claims and hype:

“Miracle”
“Amazing”
“Incredible”
“Magic”
“Once in a lifetime”
“Revolutionary”
“Sensational”
“Unbelievable”
“Phenomenal”
“Fantastic”
“Life-changing”
“Unmatched”
“Breakthrough”
“Top-notch”
“Stunning”
“Spectacular”
“Unparalleled”
“Outstanding”
“Extraordinary”
“Supreme”
“Astounding”
“Remarkable”
“Unprecedented”
“Jaw-dropping”
“Breathtaking”
“Groundbreaking”
“Mind-blowing”
“Majestic”
“Unrivaled”
“Ultimate”

Spammy phrases and greetings:

“Dear friend”
“Congratulations”
“You have been chosen”
“Hello!”
“Greetings”
“Dear beneficiary”
“Good news”
“Special for you”
“Attention”
“Hi there”
“To whom it may concern”
“Special invitation”
“Dear valued customer”
“Exclusive invitation”
“Dear Sir/Madam”
“Good day”
“Friendly reminder”
“Welcome”
“Important notice”
“Dear [Name]”
“Urgent response required”
“Exciting opportunity”
“Limited time offer”
“You’re a winner!”
“Act now!”
“Confidential proposal”
“Exclusive deal”
“Fantastic offer”
“Priority access”
“Selected specially”

Thank you for reading this part of the article! Read full version and find out what you can do to avoid email spam filters!