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It always floors me how many so-called “experts” leave money on the table by forgetting to use a postscript (or P.S.) in their letters—or paste a drab blob of drivel at the end of a rock ‘em, sock ‘em pitch.
A hard-hitting P.S. is your last, best chance to ring the KA-CHING bell! Sales equals money, which equals more work for the copywriter, raises for the marketing manager, happy senior execs and owners ... well, you get the picture.
Online and off, testing the P.S. is easy and darned near free. Here are five strategies that work:
1. Add a bonus offer, restate your unbelievable guarantee, mention a recent research report for an extra dash of credibility or share the rating of an expert (particularly effective in selling snob-appeal products like wine).
2. Try multiples. Many controls go there by using not one P.S., but many. Test your way into your product’s answer.
3. Add a push date. A couple of months ago, I boosted overall response on a subscription offer by nearly 10 percent just by dropping in a deadline in bold.
4. Use a short testimonial (and add one to your order form to overcome any last-minute doubts), as in “I just got this note from Sophie Snyder ...”
5. Handwrite the P.S., as though it really is an afterthought from a real person. Better yet, handwrite it on a 3˝ x 5˝ insert—as though it was tossed in the envelope at the last minute—to call out a special offer, discount or deadline extension. (The Web equivalent is a small, yellow note that floats over the landing page, handwritten in blue.)
P.S. Marketers who love the sweet sound of KA-CHING invest as much time in their P.S. as they do their teaser copy—and thank the gods when their competitors don’t. Are you a competitor’s answered prayer? Don’t wait! Turbocharge your P.S. by July 30.
Lea Pierce is the founder of Wine Country Wordsmiths. She’s been providing strategic concepts and sales-boosting consumer direct copy to a Who’s Who of American business since (roughly) the dinosaurs roamed the earth. (Actually, she went freelance in 1985 and never looked back.) Today, with more than 100 controls under her belt, she specializes in direct mail and Web copy for financial services, alternative health, wine/gourmet and subscriptions/renewals for left-wing political and progressive Christian publications. Contact her at lea@leapierce.com
A hard-hitting P.S. is your last, best chance to ring the KA-CHING bell! Sales equals money, which equals more work for the copywriter, raises for the marketing manager, happy senior execs and owners ... well, you get the picture.
Online and off, testing the P.S. is easy and darned near free. Here are five strategies that work:
1. Add a bonus offer, restate your unbelievable guarantee, mention a recent research report for an extra dash of credibility or share the rating of an expert (particularly effective in selling snob-appeal products like wine).
2. Try multiples. Many controls go there by using not one P.S., but many. Test your way into your product’s answer.
3. Add a push date. A couple of months ago, I boosted overall response on a subscription offer by nearly 10 percent just by dropping in a deadline in bold.
4. Use a short testimonial (and add one to your order form to overcome any last-minute doubts), as in “I just got this note from Sophie Snyder ...”
5. Handwrite the P.S., as though it really is an afterthought from a real person. Better yet, handwrite it on a 3˝ x 5˝ insert—as though it was tossed in the envelope at the last minute—to call out a special offer, discount or deadline extension. (The Web equivalent is a small, yellow note that floats over the landing page, handwritten in blue.)
P.S. Marketers who love the sweet sound of KA-CHING invest as much time in their P.S. as they do their teaser copy—and thank the gods when their competitors don’t. Are you a competitor’s answered prayer? Don’t wait! Turbocharge your P.S. by July 30.
Lea Pierce is the founder of Wine Country Wordsmiths. She’s been providing strategic concepts and sales-boosting consumer direct copy to a Who’s Who of American business since (roughly) the dinosaurs roamed the earth. (Actually, she went freelance in 1985 and never looked back.) Today, with more than 100 controls under her belt, she specializes in direct mail and Web copy for financial services, alternative health, wine/gourmet and subscriptions/renewals for left-wing political and progressive Christian publications. Contact her at lea@leapierce.com
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