100+ Spam Words to Avoid in Your Emails and Subject lines

Have you ever struggled to craft the perfect subject lines for your emails?

A couple of weeks ago, as I was getting ready to prepare for one of my newsletters, I realized there was one thing that gave me a headache: the subject line.

“YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS!” I thought immediately crossing it out. Too dramatic, too spammy. “New Newsletter Alert!” I tried next, wincing at its generic blandness.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced. It was about my dear aunt. Notorious for her chain emails with subject lines in ALL CAPS and an alarming number of exclamation points!!!!!  They always ended up in my spam folder, never failing to make me chuckle (and slightly horrified).

In that moment, inspiration struck! Clearly, the key to avoiding the spam trap wasn’t just about nailing the fundamentals. It’s also about crafting emails that are both informative and engaging.

So, the point is to ditch the salesy jargon and focus on creating a subject line that piques curiosity, hints at the content within, and most importantly, feels natural.

So, what we’re trying to say is- ‘spam words’ might be the culprit…

…if your emails land in the prospect’s spam folder.

Without further ado, let’s see what those are. More importantly, avoid them if you’re using them. You’ll find words in brackets () after some phrases. That indicates the reason why that word/phrase is considered spam. 

Let’s go! 🚀

Urgency & Hype

These phrases create unnecessary pressure, making the recipient feel like they’ll miss out if they don’t act immediately. Also, this kind of language inflates the importance of the offer, potentially misleading the recipient.

Exaggeration

These spam words usually make unrealistic promises, raising red flags. Thus, making unsubstantiated claims, making it difficult to trust the message.

Suspicious & unethical spam words

Promoting illegal activity and raising major security concerns happens to be the goal of anyone using these spam words.

Overused & Generic terms

These are vague phrases that don’t tell the recipient anything specific and are often used in spam to trick them into opening the message.

Pro tip💡: Use Salesgear’s AI writing assistant feature to know the ‘spam score’ and ‘readability score’ for every email before sending it out.

Phrases with shady implications

This sort of manipulative tactic pressures the recipient into taking steps they usually won’t. This kind of language uses vague assurances and implies potential dishonesty.

Financial & get rich quick spam words

These spam words scream unrealistic promises and often hide deceptive tactics. They suggest a scam, as legitimate opportunities require work and dedication.

Symbols & All caps

Excessive use of symbols and all caps makes a message appear unprofessional and hard to read. So, they’re automatically flagged as spam. These symbols are often used to grab attention in a spammy way.

So, did you find any words that you were using, unintentionally, in your emails? If yes, stop reading and edit that email right away. 

There are some other red flags that you should verify before sending emails in bulk. In our expert’s insights section, we have, Premsanth R, our Co-founder for this edition. 

He shares a bunch of points that you must consider before sending that email. 

Expert’s insights on spam words

Q1: What are the spam words or phrases you think should be avoided in subject lines?

A1: Symbols – especially “!”,”?”, etc. Words like Free, cheap, buy now. Anything that’s too good to be true. Also, the ones that push people to act immediately. 

These are mostly done by spammers aimed at deceiving people and such words are blocked by default by email filters as spam.

Q2: How do you think one can strike a balance between being attention-grabbing without triggering spam filters in emails?

A2: Being relevant is the number 1 way to grab anyone’s attention. Thumb rule is to understand the prospect industry in-depth and act accordingly.

To grab someone’s attention you should be able to resonate with them. Especially the problem or pain they might have.

The simplest way to grab someone’s attention is to bring the name of their close competitor. Or to make them realize how bad it would become if the pain isn’t solved or rephrase the pain in the form of a story that someone else faced.

Q3: How can AI tools help optimize email content to avoid spam?

A3: Use ChatGPT to look for spam keywords and make sure the email’s readability is for a 5th grader. Use only simple words.

Q4: What specific techniques do you recommend for writing email content using AI to maximize deliverability?

A4: I use the following as rules to ChatGpt and my email to get good emails.

Rules:

• The subject line should be (2 to 5 words).

• The email body is within the 60-90 word limit.

• There should not be a single complex word and should be in a direct tone.

• There’s only one call to action in the email.

• The email content should be highly relevant to the recipient’s interests, needs, or pain points

• The maximum length of each sentence should not be more than 7 words. 

Q5: What are some red flags to look for in the email content before sending so that they don’t land in spam?

A5: 1. Inspect into links used in the emails. Also most cases avoid link tracking – it may be tagged as spam by spam filters.

2. The common problem with spam content in your emails would be in the email signature. Most of us reuse the email signature from one of the previous emails sent to use it in new emails. These signatures most times contain trackable links due to one of the Chrome extensions that you might have installed years back. 

We probably haven’t touched these signatures for years. But it continues the damage to date. So audit your email signature as the most important item. 

Q6: What are 2 prompts you’d give ChatGPT to generate a personalized email?

A6: Prompt 1:

Write a cold outreach email to a prospect who might have this problem – [eg. “Lower sales pipeline and low revenue”] and here is the proposed solution – [eg. “AI-powered outreach, automated with intelligence”]. Use the email guidelines below for generating this email. Don’t use email greetings or opening phrases. Use shorter sentences and paragraphs. Have the emails in Play, friendly, and confident in less than 100 words. Use Problem-Agitate-Solution framework. Email should be well formatted with enough white space for quick reading.

      Prompt 2: 

Write a personalized email to a prospect by referencing specific details about their business, interests, or recent achievements.
[Business: eg. Helps HR team hire new talent with AI-powered interviewing method,
Interests: Tom is very passionate about AI technology,
recent achievements: eg. Promoted to COO, business was listed in Gartner’s magic quadrant]
Craft a friendly and genuine message that shows you’ve done your research and tailor the email to resonate with the recipient’s unique situation, using fewer than 100 words. Don’t use email greetings or opening phrases. Use only shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs.

Wrapping up

Using spam words is the sure-shot way to destroy your reputation. Don’t ever use such words in your content irrespective of the channel. ‘Spam-free content’ ensures greater email deliverability as well. Remember the rules that Premsanth laid out for you while crafting emails.