Phrasing the Subject

Each newsletter begins with the subject, and it can decide on whether the message is ever taken note of or not. The risk that the message is discarded unread, a meaningful subject in particular among recipients, who receive many emails, is very important. The subject should not be missing or too long. It is exactly right when it summarizes the contents of the mail understandable in a few words. Be careful with the formulation but also on providing any reasons, which can snap the spam trap. So you should refrain from several consecutive exclamation points as well as writing entire words in capitals or the use of cryptic symbols or abbreviations.

With subjects like "Win today!", "300% increase in profits in just 3 weeks!" or "super-bargain!" could mean the end for your newsletter. But also seemingly harmless words like ‘‘offer’’; ‘’prize’’ and ‘’competition’’ could lead to penalty points with the mail provider. Avoid typical spam words like "Viagra", "hot" and fully capitalized words. An email with the subject "HOT PRICES and sharp prices - GET IT NOW!!!" is filtered with a high probability. Also euro or dollar signs should not be used in the subject.

Avoid a strong promotional language and go easy on exclamation points.

In general, the subject should say in a few words what the recipient is about to read when opening the message. Try arousing people’s curiosities:

• "10 care tips for your garden by a specialist"
• "New software upgrade available for your"
• "Germany can’t be world champion because...”

Avoid meaningless subjects such as:

• "Newsletter 06/2006"
• "News from us"
• "Press release 12667123"

Although there is perhaps an interesting content, subjects like these mislead the reader, into not opening the message or even into deleting it unread.

Also avoid blatant exaggerations, documented negative words, exclamation point and a high proportion of capital letters, as they are common in spam e-mails, for example:

• "FREE OFFER - ONLY TODAY!"
• "Our best-selling book now cheap: sexuality without Viagra"
• "Great faaaaan articles for the World Cup - only here !!!!!!"

Such submissions will be probably rejected from most spam filters, because they exhibit typical signs of unwanted advertising.

Avoid emotionally charged expressions in the subject, but also in the text of the newsletter itself. Spam filters react to certain words, symbols, slogans, acronyms, or even blank subject fields. If you want your email to arrive at the recipients without problems, you should formulate a clear informative sentence. The active word lists in spam filters provide immediate identification of the mail as spam, if suspicious words occur once or several times. Subjects like "Win now" or "500% in just 4 weeks" will be tagged as spam or eliminated. Avoid phrases like "super-special-offer" and abbreviations such as XXL, also subjects with three exclamation marks and CAPITAL LETTERS. Generally you should avoid multiple special characters. It is best to focus on the typical serious word-style and classic elements of a business letter.

Examples of Junk mail Keywords:

• Body contains "money back"
• Body contains "cards accepted"
• Body contains "removal instructions"
• Body contains "extra income"
• Subject contains "!" AND Subject contains "$"
• Subject contains "!" AND Subject contains "free"
• Body contains "000" AND Body contains "!" AND Body contains "$"
• Body contains "Dear friend"
• Body contains "for free?"
• Body contains "for free!"
• Body contains "Guarantee" AND (Body contains "satisfaction" OR Body contains "absolute")
• Body contains "more info" AND Body "visit" with AND Body contains "$"
• Body contains "SPECIAL PROMOTION"
• Body contains "one-time mail"
• Subject contains "$ $"
• Body contains "order today"
• Body contains "order now!"
• Body contains "money-back guarantee"
• Body contains "100% satisfied"
• To contains "friend@"
• To contains "public@"
• To contains "success@"
• From contains "sales@"
• From contains "success."
• From contains "success@"
• From contains "mail@"
• From contains "@public"
• From contains "@savvy"
• From contains "profits@"
• From contains "hello@"
• Body contains "mlm"
• Body contains "@mlm"
• Body contains "///////////////"
• Body contains "check or bank transfer"

Filter for adult content:

• Subject contains "xxx"
• Subject contains "over 18"
• Subject contains "over 21"
• Subject contains "adult"
• Subject contains "adults only"
• Subject contains "over 18"
• Subject contains "18 +"
• Body contains "over 18"
• Body contains "over 21"
• Body contains "must be 18"
• Body contains "adults only"
• Body with "Adult Web"
• Body contains "must be 21"
• Body contains "adult"
• Body contains "18 +"
• Subject contains "erotic"
• Subject contains "adult"
• Subject contains "anal"
• Subject contains "sex"
• Body contains "xxx"
• Body contains "xxx!"
• Subject contains "free" AND Subject contains "adult"
• Subject contains "free" AND Subject contains "sex"

Other words and phrases that should be avoided:

• "Email here"
• Subject starts with many numbers
• "Teenagers"
• "Diploma"
• "Discount"
• "Trace"
• "100% guaranteed"
• Subject begins with "Free"
• Subject begins with "Hello" or "Hi"
• Recipient's address is also the subject
• "BUY BUY BUY"
• "Rally has started"
• "Share"
• "Forecast"
• "Daily target"
• "Proposal"
• "Piece"
• "Offer"
• "Negotiation"
• "Professionals"
• "I can not find your site to Google"
• "Termination"
• "Reminder"
• "Are you satisfied with Outlook"
• "Are you satisfied with Exchange"
• "Job Offer!"
• "We have a vacancy for you"
• "New Challenges"
• "In addition to working"
• "Only while stocks last"
• "Finally online"
• "Photos"
• "Hi, you've missed our free offer?"
• "Poker"
• "Profit opportunity"
• "Making Money Made Easy"
• "Casino"
• "Quick training"
• "Answering e-mails immediately"
• "Read for yourself"