ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::All

How to Harness the Real Power of the P.S.

Author : Vincent Czaplyski
Should your sales letter contain a P.S.?

If you aren’t using one, you’re probably leaving money on the table. So the short answer is “yes.” A well written P.S. (for “post script,” literally meaning “after writing”) following your signature is your last chance to influence your prospect favorably and close the sale. If it isn’t as strong as possible, these prospects may toss your letter aside or click to another website.

No marketer wants that to happen of course. So to avoid this unfortunate outcome, I recommend you put some serious thought behind your P.S. And one of the first things you need to think about is changing your understanding of how the P.S works.

Right now, you need to stop thinking of the P.S. as the last part of the letter that anyone sees. Instead, think of it as one of the first parts to be read. Then, imagine its effect on your prospect in that light.

What do I mean?

Oddly enough, the opening headline and closing P.S. of your letter are often lumped together by your prospects. These widely separated parts of your letter are really Siamese twins of sorts, joined at the hip. Studies of reading behavior have shown that many readers scan the opening headline first, then jump right to the P.S. to try and quickly figure out what the letter is really all about.

Don’t you find yourself doing that sometimes?

This fact should raise an alarm somewhere in the back of your mind. If your prospect is skipping the “meat” of your letter and making a snap judgment based on the P.S., that means your carefully constructed appeal has just been short circuited, right?

Not necessarily. The best sales letters make an emotional connection with the intended prospects before any “selling” is done. That’s because people will generally buy something for emotional reasons, then justify their buying decision with logic. If your P.S. can ignite some emotion or sense of passion in your prospect, it can help bring your prospect back into the rest of the letter.

If it appeals only to logic, it may not be enough to get your prospect to go back to the beginning of the letter and ultimately, to the decision to buy.

A well written, emotionally appealing P.S. can be called upon to do one or more of the following, although this list isn’t exhaustive:

1. Restate the primary benefit of your product or service
2. Introduce a completely new surprise benefit
3. Describe one or more special bonuses that you are including with your offer
4. Enhance the credibility of your offer in some way, perhaps by including an additional testimonial or endorsement
5. Provide a powerful sense of urgency that prompts your prospect to take immediate action
6. Reassure your prospect with your money back guarantee

How does one write an emotionally appealing P.S.? Here are three examples.

The first tugs at the heartstrings of its audience, potential buyers of a United States Historical Society stained glass plate commemorating the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. It describes an additional benefit not previously mentioned in the letter, and does so in an emotionally appealing way.

“P.S. In years to come, this treasured work of art will be a reminder – perhaps to generations yet unborn – of America’s finest hour.”

The next one comes from a sales letter seeking subscribers to The Economist magazine. The body of the sales letter describes the magazine as read by “… presidents (of countries, banks, universities and Fortune 500 companies).” The P.S. plays to this sense of exclusivity, a sophisticated emotional appeal that probably hooked a lot of new subscribers.

“P.S. As mentioned earlier, this invitation is non-transferable. It is valid in your name only. If you decide not to accept my offer, please do not pass it along to anyone else. I would prefer you simply discard it. Thank you.”

The last example is from a sales letter for Prostanol, a men’s prostrate health supplement. The copywriter could have just blandly stated the guarantee. But with fear of contracting prostrate cancer on the minds of many men over age 40 (the target audience here), the P.S. was written instead in an emotionally attention getting way that is much more effective.

“P.S. I’ve seen men who were completely distraught from the debilitating effects of poor prostrate health come back to life again. That’s how powerful this formula is and why I can confidently offer you my unequaled guarantee: unless Postanol works for you in just weeks, IT’S FREE. I’m that confidant in this scientifically-proven formula.”

To summarize, decide what you want the P.S. to accomplish, then write it in such a way that it strikes an emotional chord with your target audience. If you do, it won’t matter that it may be one of the first parts of the letter read by your prospects.


About the Author

Copywriter Vincent Czaplyski owns Hampshire Cove Marketing, Inc.,
which provides copywriting and marketing services and products
Subscribe to his free bimonthly newsletter full of powerful
marketing tips at http://www.SolidNetGold.com/mh-signup.htm.
Contact him at info@solidnetgold.com

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. Is Your Web Copy "Plain Talk"?
  2. A Quick Free 'n' Easy Content Writing Course
  3. Pharmaceutical Copywriter? Maybe?
  4. Copy Makeovers Made Easy
  5. Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Big Difference, Part 2 of 2
  6. Copywriting Makeover: Subtle Changes Make A Noticeable Difference Part 1 of 2
  7. Top 10 Ways For Copywriters To Overcome Writer's Block
  8. How To Personalize Your Headlines For Increased Profits!
  9. Writing Suitable Copy for the Press
  10. How to Write Ad Copy that Sells
  11. Working on the Internet: Role of Proofreading and Copy editing OnLine
  12. Tech-writers: A Necessary Evil
  13. Web Copy – How Much is Enough?
  14. Online Promotion Beats Traditional Ten-One
  15. Writing Copy for Voiceovers
  16. Somebody's Distributing Your Copyright Content Illegally? Know Your Facts Before You Accuse
  17. Web Legalities: Copyright
  18. Things You Might Like to Know about Copyrights
  19. Why Good Copywriting Matters
  20. Why Dream Merchants Make More Money
  21. Why Copyright?
  22. The Top 7 Rules of Power Copywriting!
  23. Revealed: The $12,500 Copywriting Formula
  24. What is Advertising - and What Does it Mean on the Internet?
  25. 7 Emotional Appeals You Can Use To Super Charge Your Headlines
More related feeds
How to Harness the Real Power of the PS
Should your sales letter contain a PS? If you aren’t using one, you’re probably leaving money on the table. So the short answer is “ye.

GT by Citroen
Two padded racing seats upholstered in dark leather, each fitted with a four-point harness, enfold the driver and passenger for exceptional driving sensations. Placed low down to highlight the impression of speed, the elegant seats are ...

Free Energy Options
It's even possible to earn money from the power company. That’s right, my step-by-step fully illustrated manual will show you how to harness the forces of nature to generate your own FREE ENERGY. When you produce excess energy, ...

Bloggers, Twitter and the Election
Who can harness this energy into a more streamlined, uniform power? Is that even a good idea? If you look at Digg or Reddit, it’s obvious there’sa certain voice with the crowd. I wonder at the power of creating online communities that ...

Manifest Your Dreams At Long Last Using The Laws Of Mind In The ...
You'll finally start to know what real manifestation power will let you do…whether that's buying your dream home, finding the partner of your dreams, creating that dream business or whatever. With real power comes real success. ...

THE AWESOME POWER OF PRACTICE!
When it does, you will be able to tap into the awesome power of passion, through practice, and persistence. You will be able to harness your time and effort in the service of your deepest desires and highest aspirations. ...

Bizarre and Unusual Mind Control
By Iain Legg / Source: Real Mind Power Secrets. Hypnosis has many faces, which is part of its fascination as a career. It is conceivable that a single hypnotist could cover all of its facets. Some hypnotists actually combine ...

Golden Tee: Wiring Started
I then found a spot on the cabinet base to mount the computer power supply. The computer power supply was to be used to supply power to the hard drive and additional power to the board, as the wiring harness alone won’t provide the ...

Maria Duval - Spiritual Tourism is a Real Crowd-Puller to India
Metaphysics teaches us how to harness and apply the cosmic power lying latent within us. In its most profound spiritual aspect metaphysics teaches us the nature of Reality and how we and Nature relate to it. Metaphysics instructs us how ...

Outrageous Mastery - The Power to Outrageously Master Your Life ...
CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE». * Harness ALL Power * Hear Answers to EVERY Prayer * Create Shocking Business & CAREER Success * Heal Your Hurting RELATIONSHIPS * Generate Financial Prosperity like Magic * UnderstandYour Life ...

 

 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved