Where Does PS Go In a Business Letter
Where Does PS Go In a Business Letter?
Most of us are familiar with Postscript or PS messages from personal letters, postcards, and even emails. You often see a PS message at the bottom of a Christmas or birthday card you receive. However, no rule says you can’t use PS messages in your business communications.
Many businesses are smartly using the PS at the end of a letter to connect better with their customers. However, most companies are still unsure how or why they need to use PS in a business letter.
Hence, we have created a complete guide that can cover the following:
- What does PS mean in a business letter?
- Where you should ideally place the PS message.
- How to punctuate and format the ps in your business mail?
- Five reasons why you should use PS at the end of a letter.
What Does PS Mean In A Letter?
PS, short for postscript, is derived from the Latin word postscriptum. And what does it mean? Well, postscriptum translates to “written after,” and that alone should tell you what you need to know about PS.
The PS is like an afterthought or additional information that you can add to a letter even after writing it. A few years ago, people depended solely on handwritten or typed notes. They could not press the “backspace” button when they made an error or forgot to mention an important detail.
Back then, people had no choice but to use the PS if they failed to mention it in the original letter. And even though we later moved on to digital texts, which you could easily edit however you wanted, the practice of PS remained.
The PS message usually includes personalized details that the recipient of the letter finds amusing. It can be clever, witty, argumentative, or even a friendly reminder to the recipient.
How Do You Write PS In A Business Letter?
When writing PS in a business letter, most companies are filled with questions.
“Is it okay to include a PS in a business (official) letter?”
“What details should we include in the PS?”
“Should I put the PS before or after a signature?”
And so on.
Getting answers to these questions is essential to use PS in a business letter for business communication. Here in this blog, we will explain every detail you need to know about using PS in your business letters.
Where Should You Write PS In A Business Letter?
The positioning of the PS in a letter is always at the end of the letter. It is the same for personal and business letters. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any confusion regarding the position of the PS in a business letter.
When we say that the PS goes at the end of your business letter, we mean the very end. You can’t write the PS right after you finish the body of the letter. Every time you write a letter, you have to close it, put your signature and title to make it look more professional and complete. Furthermore, since it is a business letter, you will also need to put the company’s name at the end.
After doing all this, you can finally add the PS to your business letter. Please take a look at the example we have provided below. It will help you understand where PS goes in a business letter.
Yours Faithfully,
Cormoran Strike, Assistant Manager
JKR Electronics Store
P.S. or PS We are providing an additional discount of 15% to our loyal customers such as yourself.
How To Properly Punctuate And Format The PS In Your Business Mail?
One of the main concerns companies have about using PS in their business mail is its punctuation and format. Once again, the companies are filled with questions like:
“Should I use all uppercase letters for the PS?”
“Should the abbreviation be written PS or just PS?”
“Should I use any trailing punctuations for the PS?”
Therefore, it must be surprising to you that there are no solid answers to such questions. However, you could find some answers if you were to get some help from the Cambridge Dictionary. But, the Cambridge Dictionary uses British English to suggest the ideal format for the PS.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “PS” is the correct format to use in a letter. However, the Cambridge Dictionary adds that according to American English, the accurate format for writing a PS message is “P.S.”. Therefore, if you were to listen to the Cambridge Dictionary, you could use either “P.S.” or “PS” depending on where your audience is from.
But wait…There’s more!
We know it’s more common to see the PS written with periods after each letter. Even the Cambridge Dictionary says so. However, the Chicago Manual of Style advises using the “PS” format without any periods separating the letters.
What’s The Final Verdict On The PS Format?
The final decision on which PS format is best for your business is entirely dependent on your target audience. Since the PS format doesn’t fit into any specific category, companies can use either of the two formats discussed above.
However, a general rule of thumb about the PS format is that you capitalize the letters P and S. You can choose whether or not to use the periods in between the letters of the PS. Finally, it is you who needs to ensure that no trailing punctuations are left in the PS format.
5 Reasons Why You Should Use PS At The End Of A Letter
You might have noticed that the message you include is a PS that can easily fit in the body of the letter. Yet, we still insist on using the PS message in our letters. But, why is it so important to use a PS message in a business letter? Well, the PS at the end of a letter is used to grab the reader’s attention.
Did you notice how the PS in the letter example we provided above calls the recipient a “loyal customer”? It indicates that the offer is exclusive to a specific group and that the others who receive it may not get that PS.
If that’s not good enough, here are five solid reasons you should use a PS in a business letter.
#1 Present Your Business Goals Subtly
Companies always have a core goal in mind every time they make a business communication. And by always, we mean ALWAYS. For example, let’s say that you are routinely responding to your customer queries.
In this case, you are trying to ensure quality customer service to engage prospects and retain the already existing customers. It also means that you get to convert them again at a later stage. Therefore, you can slide in a business proposition in the mail regardless of the subject of the mail.
PS lets you pitch a sale or a special discount to your customers without compromising the body of the mail.
#2 Provide a CTA
The PS at the end of a letter can be an effective CTA or Call to Action. Consider the example we provided earlier, for instance. Here, you can print a small QR code near the PS so that the customer can conveniently access the discount you offered them. Furthermore, it makes your CTA effortlessly stand out from the rest of the mail.
#3 Establish A Connection With The Customer
Your mail doesn’t necessarily have to sell something to the customer every time. Even then, you can use the PS at the end of a letter to form a connection with the customer. You can try boosting the reach of your social media channels by saying something simple in your PS like “Follow our Facebook page to get the latest discounts and offers!”
#4 Present Something Memorable
At the end of the letter, the PS can include some unique thoughts that can make the customer think or smile. You can try having something funny or even add some trivia that can genuinely interest the reader. Although including a humorous quote or trivia may seem insignificant, it can make a memorable experience for the reader.
#5 Use Them For Promotions
You can use the PS in your business letter for promotional purposes. Interestingly, you can change the PS in your regular communications with the customer and pitch the relevant offers or promotions. The PS doesn’t have to be remotely connected to the body of the mail. Hence, you can pitch any promotions to your customers without a second thought. Also, PS at the end of letters is ideal for promoting sales and limited-period offers.
Conclusion
PS at the end of a letter can do more for promoting and growing your business than you might think. However, to do that, you must be willing to put effort into optimizing it. The details we discussed above don’t only explain where does PS goes in a business letter.
It explains the different ways PS in a business letter can help grow your engagements. One abundantly clear thing is that businesses need to learn how to use PS effectively. It can become much easier to optimize your PS message using an automated direct mail tool like PostGrid.
You can use PostGrid’s advanced system to create custom templates for your direct mail. It means you can use PostGrid’s system to print several direct mail pieces with PS messages in the best and the most streamlined ways possible.
You can even print QR codes corresponding to the PS message and make it an actionable CTA using PostGrid. Furthermore, you can also use the same system to verify your customer’s address and deliver the mail directly via USPS.
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