Common spam-trigger words in cold email
These words and patterns read like promotions. Filters notice them, and so do people. Here are the ones that show up most in cold emails, with a plainer way to say the same thing.
| Avoid | Type | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| free | Money | no cost, on us |
| guarantee, guaranteed | Overpromise | we aim to, typically |
| 100% | Overpromise | a specific number, like 92% |
| risk-free, no risk | Overpromise | low commitment |
| act now, hurry | Urgency | when timing works |
| limited time, offer ends | Urgency | this quarter |
| urgent, immediately | Urgency | timely, soon |
| click here, click below | Salesy | reply |
| buy now, order now | Salesy | reply if useful |
| special offer, exclusive deal | Salesy | idea |
| increase sales | Salesy | book more meetings |
| cash, earn money, extra income | Money | revenue |
| discount, cheap, lowest price | Money | fair price, good value |
| cutting-edge, revolutionary | Overpromise | new |
| world-class, best-in-class | Overpromise | proven |
| amazing, incredible | Overpromise | strong |
| ALL CAPS, !!!, $$$ | Formatting | normal case, one period, a real number |
Spam words are only part of deliverability
Cleaning up your wording is the easiest fix, but it is not the biggest one. Whether a cold email reaches the inbox depends mostly on how it is sent:
- Authentication. SPF, DKIM and DMARC set up on every sending domain.
- Separate domains. Send from secondary domains so your main domain stays safe.
- Warm-up and volume. Warm new inboxes for a few weeks and keep sends around 30 to 50 a day per inbox.
- List quality. Verify emails first. Bounce rates above 2 to 3% hurt your reputation fast.
- Plain first emails. No links, images or attachments in the first touch, and open tracking off.
Once your wording is clean, score the full email with the cold email checker for length, the opener and the ask, and test your subject with the subject line tester.
Frequently asked questions
Do spam trigger words really hurt cold email deliverability?
They add risk. Modern filters weigh sender reputation, authentication and engagement most heavily, but promotional language is still one of the signals they score. On a new or lightly warmed domain, a cluster of trigger words can be enough to tip an email into spam or the promotions tab.
Will one spam word send my email to spam?
Rarely on its own. Filters look at the whole picture. One "free" in an otherwise plain, personal email from a healthy domain is unlikely to matter. Several trigger words plus links, images and a new domain is where problems start. Swapping them out costs nothing, so it is worth doing.
Which words should I avoid in cold emails?
The riskiest are money and hype words such as "free", "guarantee", "100%", "risk-free", "cash" and "discount", urgency words such as "act now", "urgent" and "limited time", and calls to action such as "click here" and "buy now". All caps and repeated exclamation marks count too.
What else causes cold emails to land in spam?
Missing SPF, DKIM or DMARC records, sending from your main domain, skipping inbox warm-up, sending too many emails per inbox per day, high bounce rates from unverified lists, links and tracking pixels in the first email, and low reply rates. Copy is one factor among many.
Is my email stored when I use this spam word checker?
No. The checker runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is sent to a server, logged or stored.