“Free” has always been a bad word for email marketers, but now it’s dangerous too. A recent court ruling decided that using “free” in the subject line of an email is deceptive advertising unless the product or service advertised is absolutely, completely, 100% free with no obligations or strings attached. If it’s not really and truly “free,” then it is in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act.

So that teensy-weensy email with an itty-bitty white lie in the subject line? That’s just one more harmless junk email? Just committed a federal offense. So, to help you stay out of jail, here are some more words not to use in email marketing subject lines.

Act now
    Yes, you’re always supposed to have a call to action, but don’t hit them with it before they’ve read your pitch. Also, “act now” just screams cheesy infomercial.

Apply now
    I didn’t put “now” on this list because I’m sure there are some legitimate reasons for using it, but more often than not it’s bad news.

As seen on__________
    More bad commercial lingo. Some reputable companies will mention where you may have seen their product, but they never use “as seen on” (or “as seen in”). Try featured on/in, or from…or just about anything but this.

Cash
    “Cash” + pretty much any word = spam. No not-spammy company advertises cash. Not even banks.

Earn
    On its own, “earn” is not a bad word, but again, this is one that is so often paired with a string of other bad words that it has lost its value. Think about it—you earn money working. And any decent employer is not going to email you for a job.

Free
    So tempting, but so dangerous. Not only is free a red flag to recipients and spam filters, it’s a CAN-SPAM violation if it’s not really free. And what is these days?

Information you requested
    Sounds legitimate, but so many people have been tricked by this phrase that it has lost all credibility.

Limited time
    A real email marketing promotion would put an actual deadline on a sale or special, and wait until the revealed the offer in the body of the email to do so.

Lower or lowest
    Yes, a real email marketing message could be offering a lower price, or the lowest deal, but very rarely is that a real or verifiable claim. Many reputable stores do offer the “lowest prices of the season,” but that’s the only exception I can think of.

Opportunity
    “Opportunity” is everywhere, but a good, honest opportunity is not coming in an email. These email opportunities are just too good to be true…’cuz they’re not.

Any drug name or pornographic reference
    Goes without saying that these are no-nos, and in some cases actual bad words.

If you think about it and come up with some subject lines using these and other common spam words, you will quickly realize they all have a cheesy, late-night-TV, used-car-commercial ring to them. So, make your subject line actually say something and you should be all set.