Spam trigger words checker
Paste your subject line and body to flag 78+ common spam trigger words and phrases. Then read the part most lists skip: what actually decides whether you land in the inbox.
Do spam words still matter?
Less than people think. Modern filters at Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo weigh sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and recipient engagement far more heavily than any keyword. A trusted domain can say free and still land. A cold domain with no reputation gets filtered no matter how clean the copy is.
So treat this as a polish step, not a strategy. Avoid stacking the obvious offenders below, because they make a cold email read like a mass blast instead of a one-to-one note, and that hurts the engagement signals that do matter. Fix your authentication and reputation first.
The full list, by category
Money and income
Get-rich and pricing language is the oldest spam signal. Heavy use in a cold email reads as a sales blast, not a one-to-one note.
- cash
- cash bonus
- earn money
- make money
- extra income
- double your income
- money back
- pure profit
- save big money
- save up to
- lowest price
- best price
- for only
- discount
- cheap
- bargain
- credit card
- refinance
- loan
- mortgage
- investment
- million dollars
- $$$
Urgency and pressure
Artificial urgency is a classic manipulation pattern filters are trained on. It also kills reply rates with real prospects.
- act now
- apply now
- buy now
- call now
- order now
- click here
- don't delay
- limited time
- urgent
- expires
- while supplies last
- today only
- instant
- deadline
- final notice
Free and no-risk
The word free is not banned, but stacking free / risk-free / no-obligation language is a strong promotional signal.
- free
- free gift
- free trial
- free access
- free consultation
- free quote
- 100% free
- free offer
- risk-free
- no obligation
- no strings attached
- no cost
- no fees
Hype and exaggeration
Superlatives and guarantees read as marketing copy. Cold email that sounds human and specific outperforms hype.
- amazing
- incredible
- unbelievable
- guaranteed
- 100% guaranteed
- once in a lifetime
- miracle
- best
- #1
- congratulations
- winner
- you have been selected
- exclusive deal
- as seen on
Shady and scammy
These phrases are almost exclusively used by spam. Even one can tank a brand-new domain's reputation.
- this is not spam
- not spam
- this is not a scam
- no catch
- hidden charges
- dear friend
- dear sir or madam
- lottery
- viagra
- weight loss
- online pharmacy
- meet singles
- work from home
Clean copy is the last 5%. We handle the other 95%.
Scheduler Zero warms your domains, manages authentication and sender reputation, and paces your sending so your cold email reaches the inbox, regardless of which words you use.