News
 5
Strategies to Turbocharge Your Postscript
By Lea Pierce
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. Lea Pierce has five strategies to keep
you from being one of those so-called “experts.”
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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 August
30.
---Source: Lea
Pierce is the founder of Wine Country Wordsmiths.
Contact her at lea@leapierce.com. Reprinted with
permission from Target Marketing Tipline (7/18/07) a
free e-mail newsletter from the Target Marketing
Group. To subscribe visit www.targetmarketingmag.com/tipline.
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