Exploding the PS Myth

What's the PS myth, I hear you ask.

If you've ever written a letter, any kind of letter, you'll know the feeling you get just at the moment you sign your name...

Damn! I forgot to mention (whatever).

Now, that's where the PS is really useful. Whatever the whatever is that you forgot to mention, you can mention it in a PS:

PS I forgot to mention Aunt Maud is coming to visit on Sunday. For a month... (or whatever)

Another occasion you'll use a PS is when you've not forgotten a single thing you were planning to say, but then something else comes up just before you seal the envelope. Or, more annoyingly, just after you've sealed the envelope, addressed it and stuck the stamp on. Perhaps:

PS Angie has asked me to remind you that it's your turn to have Aunt Maud this Christmas.

You might think that those are the sorts of reasons you'll usually see a PS at the end of a sales letter, too. And you'd be wrong, hopefully.

Unless the copywriter is spectacularly inept, every part of a sales letter is there for a reason, including the PS. After all, if it was important to have the PS as part of the body copy, the copywriter could just as easily insert it before sending it to anyone.

No, the PS is not, or should not, ever be an afterthought, even if it's phrased to give that impression. In fact, plenty of top direct mail marketers and writers will tell you it's probably the second thing you should write, after the headline.

Not least because it's generally thought to be the second thing a prospect reads - most people read the headline, very few read all the body copy (the first time) and a significant number of them will scan quickly to the end of the letter for the PS's and, just above those, the price.

So, a little forthought with your afterthoughts, please.

The next time you write a sales letter, think about the kind of killer copy you can include in the PS to get your prospects to go back to the top of the letter - and read it through the way it was meant to be read.

Roy Everitt, Writing for Results

PS The best thing is, if you think about it, they get to read your best killer copy (in the PS's) twice!

PPS There's still time for you to sign up for Nick Wrathall's 'The Complete Guide To Copywriting', where you can learn all you need to know about headlines, PS's and everything in between.