The "Seven Dirty Words" to avoid in email marketing

When I was a kid, George Carlin had a comedy routine about the seven dirty words you couldn't say on television. It seems there are still seven dirty words, but instead of not saying them on television the new words should never be read in email marketing subject lines.

by Kristina Knight

Researchers from SubscriberMail put the list together. All of the words or phrases are nearly a sure bet to get your email message blocked or immediately deleted. And there aren't just seven, the list has more than 100 phrases listed.

What words made the list? Not surprisingly "100% Free" and "50% Off" made the list. Also "Dear Friend", "Don't Delete" and "Information You Requested". Any words related to medical care, sex, pornography and debt should be avoided. Interestingly, subject lines that include extra punctuation (from periods in strange places to asterisks or symbols replacing letters) are almost certain to get an automatic delete, and forget about mentioning Oprah in the subject line of your next email, because the phrase "As Seen On Oprah" will put your message in the bulk bin.

There are many more words and phrases to avoid, and most legitimate marketers probably wouldn't use the phrases anyhow. Still, it is interesting the huge number of words on the list that should be avoided. Especially for e-tailers, mentioning discounts and limited time offers is a matter of using bold subject lines. But using those words in a subject line will likely drop your delivery and open rates because of users' fears that they might be opening spam messages.

Rather than relying on over-used phrases, think up a new way to advertise your sale - consider using a brand name or your store name in the subject line so users know from whom the message is coming.