Marketing & Sales · Prompt
Cold-Email Copy Skill: Spam Guard
Prompt guardrails to remove spam triggers and hype from cold emails.
A copy-paste prompt skill designed for AI models like Claude or Codex to protect cold email deliverability. It defines strict lists of banned trigger words, phrases, and promotional patterns alongside rules for rewriting hype into plain, low-pressure language. It acts as an automated quality-assurance filter to keep outbound copy sounding credible rather than spammy.
The prompt
Apply to subject lines, openers, second lines, follow-ups and CTAs; if a deliverability checker flags a token, treat it as banned unless the user approves an exception; when in doubt choose the lower-hype rewrite.
AVOID — banned single words: get, bank, credit, access, open, compare, problem, now, billing, deal, finance, financial, claims, insurance, mortgage, soon, new, performance, freedom, home, sales, medical, urgent, life, marketing, investment, diagnostics, friend, cash, invoice, extra, purchase.
AVOID — banned short phrases: off chance, one time, all good, following up here, last note from me here, great fit, bumping this once, just following up once, circle back, one more quick follow-up, keep this open, compare notes, compare notes live, appreciate the reply.
AVOID — promotional/pressure wording: $$$, 50% off, 100% guaranteed, 100% free, 100% off, 100% satisfied, access now, act fast, act immediately, act now, action required, affordable deal, amazing, amazing deal/offer, apply here/now, avoid bankruptcy, bargain, best bargain/deal/offer/price/rates, big profit, bonus, buy now/today, call now, can't live without, cash bonus, cash out, claim now, claim your discount, click, click below/here/this link, contact us immediately, deal ending soon, discount, don't delete, double your money/wealth, drastically reduced, earn (cash, money, extra income), easy income, exclusive deal, expires today, extra cash/income, fantastic (offer), fast cash, final call, for free, free access/consultation/gift/membership/money/quote/trial, full refund, get it now, get out of debt, get started now, giveaway, great news, guaranteed deposit/results, hurry up, important information, immediately, increase revenue/sales, incredible deal, instant earnings/income/savings, investment advice, join millions, limited time, lowest price, make money, million dollars, money-back guarantee, must read, no catch, no cost, no obligation, no strings attached, once in a lifetime, only $, only available here, order now/today, please read, price protection, profits, promise, pure profit, quote, risk-free, satisfaction guaranteed, save $, save big money, save up to, sign up free, special invitation/offer/promotion, supplies are limited, take action now, the best, this won't last, thousands, time limited, today, top urgent, trial, unbeatable offer, unbelievable, unlimited, urgent, what are you waiting for?, while supplies last, why pay more?, will not believe, winner announced, wonderful, you are a winner, you will not believe your eyes.
AVOID — phishing/security language: access your account, account update, activate now, change password, click to verify, confirm your details, confidential information, data breach, download now, final notice, important update, immediate action required, install now, last warning, log in now, new login detected, password reset, payment details needed, phishing alert, security breach/update, update account, verify identity, warning message.
AVOID — blacklisted categories: 100% natural, adult content, bet now, blackjack, casino bonus, cure for, diet pill, doctor recommended, fat burner, fast weight loss, free chips, free spins, gamble online, guaranteed weight loss, jackpot, lottery winner, medical breakthrough, miracle cure, natural remedy, no prescription needed, online betting/casino/pharmacy, pain relief, poker tournament, prescription drugs, reverse aging, risk-free bet, safe and effective, scientifically proven, secret formula, slots jackpot, spin to win, vip offer, weight loss, winning numbers, xxx.
HOW: rewrite hype into plain observational language; replace pressure with permission and promotional wording with specific business language; rewrite lines that sound like an ad, coupon, scam, phishing or fake urgency; replace vague filler bumps with a direct next-step question or clear closeout; rewrite fuzzy tokens (tight, fit, access, problem) so operational meaning is explicit; remove low-status reply acknowledgements; simplify AI-polished sentences until they read like a person speaking plainly.
TOKEN SAFETY: punctuation, hyphenation, splitting/joining don't make a banned token safe; treat close variants as banned when the root is obvious (cash-cycle = cash, invoice-line = invoice, extra-room = extra, purchase-cycle = purchase).
COMPANY NAMES: if a banned word sits in a company name, keep the reference but rewrite so the token is gone from standalone form, preferring simple deterministic removal before abbreviating. Examples: Access Brand Communications -> AB Communications; Calcon Mutual Mortgage -> Calcon Mutual; Buckeye Insurance -> Buckeye; Coming Soon New York -> Coming NY.
FORMATTING BANS: no em dashes, no ALL CAPS, no multiple exclamation marks, no greeting prefix (Hi/Hello/Hey) before the first name, no third-person '[Company] offers/helps' phrasing, no fake urgency, misleading subject lines, excessive links or promotional formatting.
SAFE REPLACEMENTS: free consultation -> open to a short conversation; special offer -> what we're seeing in the market; act now -> if relevant, happy to send details; guaranteed results -> this may be relevant depending on your situation; click here -> let me know and I can send it over; limited time -> not sure if this is timely for you; increase revenue -> a precise true business outcome such as help support liquidity.
FINAL CHECK: scan subject line for spam triggers, scan body for banned wording, rewrite hype/pressure lines into plain language, remove fake urgency, keep the email sounding like a credible real person, not a promotion.
What it's for
- Filter spam trigger words and promotional phrasing out of AI-generated cold emails
- Rewrite aggressive sales copy into plain, observational business language
- Standardize deliverability guardrails across an automated outbound workflow
Key points
- Extensive blacklist of single-word triggers, phishing language, and promotional buzzwords
- List of banned filler phrases commonly found in follow-ups and bumps
- Rules for handling banned tokens within real company names
- Formatting restrictions against em dashes, all-caps, and fake urgency
- Specific safe-replacement examples to substitute promotional phrases with natural alternatives
Pricing
Free
Details
- Type
- Prompt
- Category
- Marketing & Sales
- Topic
- Cold Email
- Open source
- No
- Platforms
- other
- For
- Cold emailers, sales reps, and developers building outbound AI agents.
- Tags
- cold email, prompt engineering, deliverability, sales copy, guardrails
Why it was saved
- @termsheetinator: Ready-made QA layer for AI cold-email writing: what to avoid, how to rewrite risky wording, and final checks, so outputs don't look like ads, scams or phishing.
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