Email Subject Line Words That Trigger Spam Filters And Route You To The Junk Folder

Getting your emails routed to the junk folder sucks… especially when you’ve worked so hard to build a list of subscribers that fully opted in and wish to view your email. There are a few factors that impact your sender reputation that can impact your ability to make it to the inbox:

• Sending from a domain or IP address with a poor reputation or that’s even on a blacklist for spam complaints.
• Getting reported as SPAM by your subscribers.
• Getting poor interaction from your recipients (never opening, clicking, and immediately unsubscribing or deleting your emails).
• Whether or not the proper DNS entries (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and BIMI) can be validated to ensure the email is authorized by the company to be sent by that email provider.
• Getting a high number of bounces on the emails you send.
• Whether or not there are insecure links in the body of your email (this includes URLs to images).
• Whether or not your reply email address is in the mailbox recipient’s contacts, of if they’ve been marked as a safe sender.
• Words in your email subject line that are common with spammers.
• Whether or not you have an unsubscribe link in the body of your emails and what you call it. We sometimes advise clients to update this to preferences.
• The body of your email. Often, a single image HTML email with no text may flag the mailbox provider. Other times, it can be words within the body of your email, the anchor text in links, and other information.

It’s important to note that mailbox providers highly customize these algorithms. It’s not a checkmark list that you must meet 100% of the guidelines. As an example, if your reply email address is in the mailbox recipient’s contacts, you’ll almost always find your way to the inbox.

If you have a great inbox placement and tons of engagement on your emails, you can get away with far more aggressive emails and use words that may trigger a sender with a poor or young reputation. When you know you’re getting routed to the junk folder, the goal is to minimize the words that may flag SPAM filters.

Email Subject Line SPAM Words

If you don’t have a solid reputation and are not in the recipient’s contacts, one of the easiest ways to get your emails stuck in the Junk Folder and classified as SPAM is by using the words you’ve utilized in your email subject line. SpamAssassin is an open-source spam blocking that publishes its rules for identifying SPAM on its Wiki.

Here are the rules SpamAssassin utilizes with words in the subject line:

• Act Now: Similar to “URGENT,” urging immediate response, often linked to deceptive practices.
• Affordable: Implies low cost, sometimes used in spam to sell questionable products or services.
• Best Price: Implies competitive pricing, commonly used in sales-oriented spam.
• Blank: A blank subject line can be suspicious as legitimate emails typically contain a relevant subject.
• Bonus: Offers extra incentives, commonly used in promotional or scam emails.
• Buy Now: Direct call to purchase, commonly seen in unsolicited commercial emails.
• Cialis: A pharmaceutical term often associated with unsolicited offers for erectile dysfunction drugs, frequently used in spam.
• Click Here: Directs recipients to potentially malicious links or phishing sites.
• Congratulations: Used without a legitimate reason, can be suspicious and indicative of spam.
• Debt Consolidation: Offers to combine debts, frequently part of financial scam emails.
• Debt Free: Offers to eliminate debts, often part of financial scam emails.
• Double Your: Similar to “Double Your Income,” promising unrealistic gains.
• Double Your Income: Unrealistic financial promises, indicative of scams.
• Earn Money: Promises of easy income, often linked to scams or fraudulent schemes.
• Exclusive Deal: Suggests limited or unique offers, often used to entice clicks in spam.
• FREE: Frequently used to promote unsolicited offers and scams, signaling promotional content.
• Gift: Implies free items or rewards, frequently used in scams to collect information.
• Guarantee: Implies assured results to entice trust in unsolicited offers.
• Guarantee You’ll: Phrases that promise guaranteed outcomes, often unrealistic and indicative of spam.
• Hot Deals: Indicates attractive offers, common in spam marketing.
• Hot Property: Used in real estate spam promoting dubious or non-existent properties.
• Increase Sales: Common in unsolicited business offers aiming to sell dubious services.
• Instant Access: Suggests immediate availability of services or products, frequently used in spam.
• Instant Approval: Suggests quick acceptance, commonly used in loan or credit scams.
• Investment Opportunity: Offers to invest in schemes, often fraudulent or high-risk.
• Lose Weight: Common in health and fitness spam promoting dubious weight loss products.
• Lowest Price: Claims of unbeatable pricing, often used in unsolicited sales emails.
• Luxury: Suggests high-end products, sometimes associated with counterfeit goods in spam.
• Miracle: Implies extraordinary results, often used in dubious health or weight loss products.
• Multi-Level Marketing: Phrases related to MLM schemes, frequently part of spam emails.
• No Credit Check: Common in financial scams offering loans or credit without verification.
• No Fees: Implies absence of charges, often misleading in financial or service offers.
• No Obligation: Suggests no commitment, often used in offers that are deceptive.
• Online Pharmacies: Indicates illegitimate drug sales, a common spam topic.
• Password Reset: Used in phishing attempts, pretending to be legitimate password-related communications.
• Private Label: Often associated with bulk or counterfeit product offers in spam.
• Rebate: Offers of refunds or discounts, commonly used in promotional spam.
• Remove Debt: Similar to “Debt Free,” offering to eliminate debts, often part of scams.
• Risk-Free: Implies no risk to deceive recipients into engaging with offers.
• Save Big: Promises significant savings, frequently used in promotional spam.
• Save Up to: Offers of substantial savings, frequently used in promotional spam.
• Sensitive Information: Phrases suggesting the need to provide personal data, indicative of phishing.
• Special Promotion: General marketing term often used in unsolicited commercial emails.
• Trial Offer: Implies a free or limited-time trial, often leading to hidden costs or commitments.
• Unlimited: Suggests endless benefits or features, often misleading in spam offers.
• Unsubscribe: Sometimes used deceptively to trick users into clicking malicious links.
• URGENT: Creates a sense of urgency to prompt immediate action without due consideration.
• Vacation: Offers related to travel, sometimes associated with scam deals or counterfeit bookings.
• Warranty: Implies protection plans, often used in unsolicited product sales.
• Work From Home: Entices with flexible job offers, sometimes linked to pyramid schemes or scams.
• Winner: Singular form similar to “WINNER,” used to claim prize victories.
• WINNER: Indicates the recipient has won something, a common tactic to entice clicks.
• You Are a Winner: Similar to “WINNER,” claims of prizes to entice engagement.
• Zero Risk: Implies no danger, often misleading in unsolicited offers.

SPAMASSASSIN commonly flags these terms as they are frequently associated with unsolicited and potentially harmful email content. Utilizing such keywords in subject lines increases the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.

I honestly believe most of these filters are ridiculous and often block great email senders from making it to the inbox. Virtually every consumer expects email from the vendors they’re doing business with, so saying anything regarding an offer or price may get you blocked is quite frustrating. And what if you do want to provide something FREE to a subscriber? Well, don’t write it in a subject line!

Need Help With Your Email Reputation?

• Email list cleansing to ensure known bounces and disposable email addresses are removed from your system.
• Migration to a new email service provider (ESP) with email warming campaigns that ensure you ramp up with a solid reputation.
• Inbox placement testing to monitor and track your inbox vs. junk folder placement.
• Reputation repair is needed to assist good email senders in building a solid email reputation for higher inbox placement.

If you are sending at least 5,000 emails to any single mailbox provider, we can even audit your program to provide you with feedback on the health of your overall email marketing program.

Contact DK New Media for Email Assistance

The Origin of the Word SPAM

If you didn’t know where the word SPAM came from… It’s from a Monty Python sketch of the popular canned meat product.