Deliverability
Email spam trigger words to avoid in cold outreach (2026)
Spam filters in 2026 weigh sender reputation far more than words — but salesy phrases ('free', 'guarantee', 'act now'), heavy formatting, and link-heavy bodies still hurt. Here's the list.
8 May 2026 5 min readBy Autocloz Editorial, Deliverability team
Short answer: in 2026, spam filtering is driven mostly by sender reputation + engagement, not a keyword blocklist — but salesy trigger words still tip a borderline message into spam. Avoid "free", "guarantee", "act now", "100% free", "risk-free", excessive punctuation/CAPS, and multiple links.
The phrases to drop
- Money/urgency: *free, guarantee, act now, limited time, risk-free, cash, $$$.*
- Hype: *amazing, revolutionary, once-in-a-lifetime, miracle.*
- Formatting traps: ALL CAPS, !!!, red text, big images, 3+ links.
What matters more than words
- Authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC) and domain reputation.
- Engagement — replies and low complaints.
- Plain, personal copy that reads like a human wrote it to one person.
Autocloz keeps you clean
Autocloz flags risky formatting, keeps your DMARC/auth healthy, and its plain-text-first templates avoid the formatting traps that tank placement.
> Start free — write like a human; Autocloz handles the deliverability mechanics.