Remember back in school when a few kids would break the rules and then the entire class would suffer the consequences? This is exactly what happened with spam triggers. A few unscrupulous individuals used deceptive messages to mislead people, and now certain words and types of messages have become off-limits for everyone.
In this post, we're going to cover what those spam words are, why it's important to avoid them, and what to use instead—so you can maximize delivery rates and keep customers engaged.
BUT
before we do, I want to note that this spam trigger word list isn't black and white. Whether or not you can use these words in your campaigns depends on your sender reputation, how well your recipients know you, and the overall context of the entire message. We'll cover this in depth, but I want you to know this off the bat so you can read the post through this lens.
Spam trigger words are terms or phrases that are commonly associated with spammy, promotional, or misleading messages. When used in emails or SMS marketing, these words can cause the message to be flagged by spam filters, reducing the likelihood of it reaching the recipient's inbox.
Or, if they do reach the recipient, they are likely to get mistaken as spam and result in the recipient deleting, ignoring, or opting out.
Speaking of opting out, learn 10 ways to reduce your opt out rates here.
Both the TCPA and CAN-SPAM Act, which help regulate marketing communications, require that you use clear and honest language. But in addition to being a compliance requirement, there are other reasons why you should avoid spam trigger words:
Messages with spam triggers can get blocked by carrier filters. If your messages don’t reach your recipients, you can’t effectively market to them or get solid returns on your communication platform investments.
Email and SMS providers track sender behavior, and consistently using spam language can hurt your sender reputation. Poor reputation can mean higher likelihood of future messages being flagged as spam, even if they don’t contain trigger words. Read more about carriers blocking messages here.
Messages that use natural, honest, and clear language are more likely to be perceived as valuable and relevant by your customers. Plus, they find overly promotional or deceptive messages to be annoying.
Avoiding spam trigger words helps ensure your messages are seen as helpful rather than bothersome. This increases engagement rates and improves the overall customer communication experience.
In addition to spam trigger words, there are other characteristics of your messages that can make it appear spammy—to customers and/or carriers. Here are some tips to avoid being spammy:
It's important to note that using one of these words in a text message or email doesn't guarantee it will get flagged as spam by a carrier or mistaken as spam by a customer. Whether or not this happens depends on:
For example, "free" is considered a spam trigger. Will a personalized, conversational text that says "I'd love to get you scheduled for a free estimate" get flagged as spam? Probably not.
But an impersonal, mass text that says "Book your FREE estimate NOW!" might.
The bottom line is, spam trigger words aren't black and white. If you do need to use one of the below words (many of our clients offer free estimates or consultations, and money-back guarantees), you should be okay as long as you follow the best practices we covered above and the list of factors in this section.
And the best way to do this is by segmenting your contacts into specific audiences and creating smaller campaigns with highly personalized and relevant messaging. We cover these points in more depth in our post on 10 ways to reduce your opt out rates.
Monitor your deliverability rates, response rates, and opt out rates. If something seems amiss, refer back to this list and these tips and see if you need to make an adjustment.
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
Note that this is not an exhaustive list, but it covers a lot of the common words that can trigger spam filters or turn customers off.
And one last time: For those of you who skipped right to the list, please read the "Important note" section above, to understand how to interpret this list!
Freebie spam trigger words
Exaggerated claim spam trigger words
FOMO spam trigger words
Lottery spam trigger words
Other spam trigger words
Other ways to avoid being misperceived as spam:
Again, spam triggers aren't black and white. The best way to use this word list is as a guide, not a rulebook. And in conjunction with regular reporting. Monitor your delivery rates, response rates, and opt out rates and if your performance is lacking, you may need to adjust some message verbiage.
Remember also that it's not just the words you use, but the overall context of the message. Segment out your database into specific audiences so you can create smaller, tailored campaigns that have clear, honest language with true personalization.
Follow these best practices and you can enhance your message's deliverability, protect your sender reputation, and improve customer engagement.