Does using bold text in emails affect deliverability?

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that using bold text sparingly in emails is unlikely to significantly impact deliverability. However, excessive or improper use of HTML tags, including bold tags, can contribute to increased email size and potentially trigger spam filters. They recommend focusing on providing valuable content and ensuring proper HTML structure.

Marketer from Email Geeks and Dusty Werner discuss how older audiences had a good response to a very bolded email. Johan mentions could test a slightly heavier font weight and Pixel size, font weight, line height etc. You could even track this against a user profile and personalise accordingly.

Email marketer from Email On Acid shares that while bold text itself is not a direct trigger for spam filters, poor coding practices that often accompany excessive styling (including bolding) can negatively impact deliverability. They advise keeping the HTML code clean and avoiding unnecessary complexity.

Email marketer from Reddit shared their personal experience, stating that using bold text sparingly for emphasis hasn't caused any noticeable deliverability issues. They suggest focusing on maintaining a clean email list and avoiding spammy content as more crucial factors.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests A/B testing to show the impact on deliverability and engagement.

Email marketer from Webmaster Forum mentioned that the use of bold text itself is unlikely to directly impact spam scores. They emphasize the importance of ensuring proper DKIM and SPF authentication, and maintaining a good sender reputation.

Email marketer from HubSpot responds that email deliverability is more heavily influenced by sender reputation, authentication, and list hygiene than the use of bold text. They recommend focusing on providing valuable content and avoiding spam triggers.

Marketer from Email Geeks says that excessive bold text is fake news, and shares an anecdote about bolding nearly an entire email by mistake and having a good response.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that unless there are excessive "<b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b><b></b>" tags, it shouldn't make a difference.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow responds that bold text alone is generally not an issue for spam filters. However, the user mentions that using inline styles excessively or having a large ratio of HTML code to text content can potentially affect deliverability. They suggest keeping emails concise and well-structured.

Marketer from Email Geeks states that excessive bold text is fake news and won't affect deliverability. Filters used to be concerned about the distribution of different styles because spammers sent HTML emails, but this is no longer the case.

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that good sender reputation, proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and engaged subscribers are the major factors in email deliverability; minimal use of bold text is not considered a high-risk factor.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that excessive use of HTML formatting, including bold text, can contribute to a higher spam score if it's part of a pattern of behaviors associated with spam. While bold text alone isn't a definitive trigger, it could raise flags if combined with other spammy characteristics in the email.

Documentation from Google prioritizes authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), avoiding sending unwanted mail, and making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe. The use of bold text is not specified as a potential spam trigger.

Documentation from Mailchimp advises that focusing on creating clean HTML and avoiding spam trigger words, alongside authenticating your domain, is key to avoiding spam filters; bold text alone should not trigger spam filters.

Documentation from RFC Editor does not specifically address bold text. The RFC mentions about email message formats, that well-formed HTML is important and that it does not contain excessive or malformed markup.

Documentation from MDN Web Docs explains that the HTML <b> element is used to draw the reader's attention to the element's contents. While MDN does not directly address deliverability, they emphasize the importance of using semantic HTML and CSS for styling, suggesting that overuse of the <b> element might indicate a lack of proper styling practices.

Documentation from Litmus advises avoiding excessive use of any specific HTML formatting, including bold text, as it can increase the overall size of the email and potentially trigger spam filters. They recommend focusing on creating engaging content and optimizing images for better deliverability.

Documentation from Microsoft focuses primarily on authentication, sender reputation, and content relevance. It does not mention the use of bold text as a trigger for spam filters, suggesting it's a low-priority factor.