Are your email bounce rates increasing?
What about the blocked numbers from your last email campaign?
If so, spam filters may be the cause of changes in your email statistics. Spam filters assign points to your emails, based on a number of criteria. If your email receives too many points, then – whether it’s well-intentioned or not – it may be marked as spam.
While some of these words have a long history as great marketing words, spam filters are changing the way we write for email.
Here are 10 words and phrases you’ll definitely want to avoid, along with a few other hints.
- Click (or Click Here)
- Free
- US Dollars
- Risk Free
- Now
- Offer
- No Hidden Costs
- No Obligation
- All New
- Act Now!
There are many more spam trigger words out there, so take care when writing your email copy. While one or two words probably won’t get you placed on spam lists alongside the Nigerian Oil Minister, if you aren’t careful they can quickly add up and hurt your email marketing campaign.
Companies like MailChimp, Constant Contact and aWeber are dealing with the ever-changing world of spam words and phrases, so you may want to check with your email service for more information about known spam triggers before you write your next email.
More Tips to Avoid Becoming a Spammer
- Don’t use too many pictures. Spam filters can’t “read” pictures, and – if there’s little or no text – they’ll categorize the email as spam.
- Avoid using the words ‘Oprah’ and ‘Viagra.’ No joke…they are known spam words that are used by spammers to get attention. (Forget sticks and stones…names actually can hurt you.)
- Don’t use all caps in your email subject line. Not only is it a surefire sign of spam, it’s also considered rude.
- Don’t start off your email with the phrase ‘Dear [name].’ Believe it or not, ‘dear’ is a pretty big spam word that can count against you.
In short: whether or not you are a spammer, what you say can easily get you classified as one…so take care with your words.
Have you been using any of these words in your email marketing?