Spam test your email content

Business Benefits

Ensure emails reach target inboxes.


Review email content and subject lines for common spam trigger words.

Although spam filters are constantly evolving, there are some common trigger words to avoid. Types of spam triggers include:

  • Exaggerated claims and promises: 100% free, best prices, 100% satisfaction, #1, increase sales, satisfaction guaranteed, miracle, double your income.
  • Words that convey unnecessary urgency: Take action, act now, click here, urgent, act immediately, this won’t last, new customers only, legal notice, buy it today!
  • Words associated with scams: Weight loss, internet marketing, no purchase necessary, social security number, diagnostics, you’re a winner, no hidden fees, this isn’t spam, you have been chosen.
  • Words associated with adult content: Wife, teen, singles, free video.
  • Money-related words: Prize, a million dollars, cash bonus, debt-free, get paid, $$$, for free, mortgage rates, money back, no purchase necessary.

Remove style issues like excessive images, needless capitalization, or misleading messaging.

Some style issues that may trigger spam filters:

  • More images than text. Adding more text in the footer section can help resolve this issue.
  • Hidden text.
  • Using all capital letters in the subject line.
  • Special characters or symbols in the subject line. Limited emoji usage may be ok.
  • Excessive exclamation points.
  • Colorful fonts.
  • Broken HTML.
  • Large attachments. Try compressing files if an attachment is necessary.

The email’s subject line should be an honest and accurate representation of the overall content. For example, if the subject line mentions a flash sale, your email content should provide relevant details about the sale.

Remove suspicious links from email content, like broken links, URLs that contain spam trigger words, and links that lead to multiple redirects or blacklisted domains.

Click on each link to make sure it works and goes to the right place, and paste each URL into Barracuda to check that it isn’t blacklisted.

Use a spam testing tool like mail-tester: send your email to the link on mail-tester, and it will give you a score based on your messaging, mail server, sending IP, and more.

Other tools to check if your email will trigger spam filters are Folderly, Glock apps, and IP Quality Score. Some email marketing management platforms like GetResponse include a built-in spam checker tool.

Track the email open rate to measure its deliverability effectiveness with the formula: email open rate = emails opened / emails sent - bounced emails.

Once the email is sent to your subscriber list, use your email platform’s analytic tools to monitor the open rate in the first few hours. You can also compare the open rate to that of your other emails to measure its overall effectiveness.

Continue to improve your email deliverability by cleaning up your subscriber list and improving your sender reputation.

More ways to improve deliverability:

  • Make it easy to unsubscribe with a functional unsubscribe button.
  • Use double or authenticated opt-in to ensure you have permission to email contacts.
  • Make an email schedule to maintain a good email frequency, every week rather than every hour.
  • Check your sender reputation on Sender Score.
  • Find inactive subscribers and remove them from your subscription list.
  • Remove duplicate email addresses.
  • Use an email marketing management platform that helps you improve your deliverability, like Active Campaign, GetResponse, Constant Contact, or HubSpot.

Improve email metrics by writing effective email copy that engages your readers.

Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T11:30:47Z

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