How to Use the P.S.

 As a copywriting tactic, the P.S. has made its way from standard direct mail copy to email marketing copy.

Two paragraphs, a couple of links, and a P.S. to bring it all home has the ability to effectively reinforce message, create urgency, and generate value.

How to Use the P.S.

The  postscript, abbreviated to  P.S., may be a sentence or a paragraph added after the main body and signature of a letter (or other body of writing). The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, an expression meaning "written after."

So how can you use the awesome power of the P.S. in your marketing efforts? And when is using a P.S. a helpful addition to your lead-generating copy?

According to  Copyblogger, ask yourself, "What's first, last, and unusual in my copy?" The first is always the headline. The unusual is the story or example that helps to differentiate your offer. The last …well, the last is a P.S., the final thought. Here are six awesome ways your can use the P.S. to enhance your email marketing efforts.

1. The Hook

Use your P.S. as bait, and make sure you attach a hook to it (the clickable URL that sends your reader to the landing page). What usually works best is emphasizing the main selling point one more time, but from a different angle. Why the main selling point? There is always a chance that your reader scrolls down to the bottom of the message without taking in all of your glorious copy. On the chance that they did read it all, offering another key benefit makes them really want to bite.

For example, if you have been emphasizing the money-saving aspect of your offer, add something else.

2. The Final Plea

MarketingSherpa  writes in its "12 Top Email Copywriting Tips to Raise Funds” case study that "adopting the direct-mail tactic of putting a ‘p.s.’ at the end of the copy and marrying it to a ‘Donate’ link is a smart move for raising funds." Asking for donations is never easy, but a well crafted P.S. can be the determining factor. You can either pour on the emotion one more time or you can provide a sense of urgency.

3. The Creation of Urgency

The nice thing about emails is their immediacy. You send them out, and within a couple days you know what your open and click-through rates are. The bad thing about emails is that they have hardly any shelf life. So you want to make sure you give your email all you have to make readers respond either by visiting a landing page or contacting someone directly. Throughout your email, you’ve been doing your best to get them to take action. Your P.S. is often your last chance. Make it count.

4. The Personal Approach

A P.S. is usually part of a personalized email – one that signs off with the name of someone real in your company. The purpose of this kind of email is to make it as personal as possible. The nice thing about a P.S. is that it adds to that “personal” approach, almost as though it’s an aside directed specifically to the email recipient. So take advantage of that inherent benefit.

5. The Bonus

One of my favorite uses for a P.S. is introducing a bonus. Throughout your email copy, you sell the main product or offer. Then in the P.S., you give them more if they act now. This adds to the sense of urgency.

6. The Testimonial

Not every product or offer needs a testimonial. But in the case of products with longer sales cycles (like many B2B products) where buyers need reassurance before they commit to a large ticket item, testimonials are often most effective. They offer a third-party endorsement and provide a sense of assurance to your prospects – maybe just enough to motivate them toward the next step and contact you.

These are just six examples of how you can use the P.S. to your advantage. There are many others. Have any of you out there experienced the awesome marketing power of the P.S.?