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P.S. Meaning: What It Is and How to Use It

What does P.S. mean and how should you use it in letters and emails? Find out now.

When you are writing an email, it is important for you to strike the right voice and tone. Regardless of whether you are sending an email to a friend or trying to gather new customers, you need to make the right impression. You might format a sales email differently than you format newsletters, but regardless, you might include PS.

A lot of people associate a PS meaning in a letter with the end of the email; however, just because you have reached the end of your email or letter doesn't mean you need to add PS in the last paragraph. There are very specific situations where it should be used.

What does PS mean, and when should you use it? Learn more about the meaning of PS below, and make sure you format your emails and letters properly.

What is the meaning of P.S.?

So, what does PS stand for? This is an abbreviation that stands for postscript. It comes from the Latin word postscriptum. When translated, this word means “written after.” Therefore, it should come as no surprise that anything that follows the PS comes after the rest of the letter is already done. For example, if you are writing a handwritten letter to a friend, you might put a PS on the back of the letter, indicating that there is more information that might not be directly related to the rest of the letter you have sent.

There are also situations where you might add PS to the bottom of an email. For example, if you have an email focusing on one topic, and you want to let the reader know that there might be another email coming that will address a different topic, you may add PS as a transition to the next email. There are different ways that people use PS, and it is important for you to make sure you use it properly. That way, you communicate the right message to the reader, and you make a good impression on your target audience. This can be useful regardless of whether you are sending an email to a friend or sending a letter to potential new customers.

What is the purpose of P.S.?

The purpose of PS is that you are indicating to the reader that there is additional information that is not directly related to other information that was included in other parts of the letter. There is a tendency for people to put PS at the bottom of just about every single email or letter that they write. Or, on the other hand, people may not use it at all.

Of course, neither approach is completely correct, and if you decide to use PS, you need to make sure that you do so properly. You need to place these initials at the bottom of the letter after you have signed your name. Then, you use the PS to signal that you are adding a short remark to the message that did not fit in with the rest of the document, letter, or email.

Furthermore, if you find that the remark or message you are including after the PS is as long as the rest of the letter, you probably need to send another letter. You do not want the additional remark to be longer than the rest of the letter.

If you keep these key points in mind, you should be off to a good start regarding your PS.

How to format P.S. In emails and letters

If you decide to add an addendum to your email or letter, you need to make sure you format it properly. When you try to add your P.S., there are a few important steps to follow. They include:

  • Place the postscript after your signature. You need to sign your name before moving into your PS.
  • Next, make sure you format it properly. There are two different ways to format it. You can either use PS, which is more common in the United Kingdom, or P.S., which is more common in the United States. When you are actually adding it to your letter, you do not need to add a comma after it. Neither the United Kingdom version nor the United States version is considered better, but you need to be consistent.
  • If you have another message to add after the initial PS, this is called PPS. Of course, you can also format it as P.P.S., if you prefer. This is a sign that you have another remark to add after a PS. This is highly unusual, and you should not get in the habit of doing so. It may frustrate your reader. It needs to be reserved for light-hearted personal messages with family members and friends, and it should not be used in a professional setting.
  • Once you have formatted your PS properly, you need to keep the message brief. If you have a very long PS message, it is a sign that you did not plan it out, and your reader might get frustrated. If you have something long to include, you need to include it in the rest of the message or in another letter that you will send later.

Once you have followed these steps, your PS should be done, and your email or letter should be ready to send. Do not forget to proofread the message to catch any spelling or grammar issues you might have overlooked before.

What is the proper punctuation of P.S.?

There are two different proper punctuations of PS. Neither is better than the other. In general, if you are sending a letter to or from the United Kingdom, the most common punctuation is PS. If you are sending an email or letter to or from the United States, the most common punctuation is P.S.

You do not necessarily need to wrestle with what punctuation you want to use, but it is important to be consistent. If you switch up the punctuation on your readers from letter to letter, they are going to get confused. Furthermore, you should never try to mix the punctuation. You should either include two periods or none at all. Finally, you should not add a comma after the PS, either. This is considered grammatically incorrect. You need to produce a professional finished product, so make sure you follow the right grammar.

How to properly use P.S.

Clearly, P.S. is something that is relatively common in emails and letters, but you need to make sure you use it properly. There is never a second chance to make a first impression, and if you do not use your postscript properly, your readers are going to end up frustrated.

If you follow these tips, you should make proper use of this addendum. It might also be helpful to take a look at a few examples in action. A few examples of proper use of P.S. include:

Following an email about new products and services

If you are sending an email to your customers to let them know about new products and services you offer, you might want to include a P.S. at the bottom of the message. It might read something like:

P.S. Click here if you would like to learn more about our new line of products to see special offers, discounts, and deals we might be running.

Even though this might not have been related to the rest of the email, this is a good way to get your target market to swing by your website to see what new products you might offer. It also sounds a bit more informal, friendly, and humanizes your business.

Offering a special bonus to your customers

If you have sent an email to your customer talking about a special sale you might be running, you have probably already grabbed their attention. On the other hand, you might need to throw in something special to sweeten the deal. In that case, the P.S. might read something like this:

P.S. In addition to the special sale we are running, you can enjoy free shipping on all of our products for the next few hours only!

This is a great way to use a postscript to sweeten the deal a bit, convincing people to take advantage of your special offer.

Emphasize a point to a colleague

You may also want to use P.S. to strengthen a specific point in an email you might send to your colleagues. For example, if you have sent a long email to your business partner, you may be concerned that they might overlook the most important part. If you are communicating with one of your colleagues about business strategy, you may want to include something like this:

P.S. I really think that if we were due to our overhead costs, we can focus on what is most important to our marketing strategy.

This is a great way to draw attention to the most important part of the letter you have just sent to your business partner.

Add a personal touch

You may even want to use a P.S. to add a personal touch to a message you are sending to a customer, colleague, or even a superior. For example, if you are sending an update about an order to any of the people above, you may want to include the following P.S.:

P.S. With the weather beginning to warm up outside, I hope you get an opportunity to take advantage of the sunshine this weekend!

This is probably not related to anything you have just discussed, but it may still help you get your point across by showing that you care about the recipient.

Congratulate someone with the P.S.

Finally, you may even want to include a P.S. to congratulate someone on something special that has just happened. For example, you might be sending a routine email to a client reminding them about a business meeting that you have coming up. Then, you might want to include a P.S., such as:

P.S. I recently heard that you got promoted at work, congratulations! You definitely deserve it!

You can use this to build a stronger relationship with the recipient by showing that you are paying attention to what is happening in their lives. Of course, these are just a few of the many ways you can use P.S. It is a versatile option, and you need to think carefully about how you can put it to use in your emails or newsletters. Not every message requires it, but it still has its place.

Is using P.S. In emails outdated?

No! Even though you need to think carefully about how you use it, it can be very beneficial as you try to run an effective marketing campaign for your business. Even though a lot of people use it when they communicate with their friends and family members, you can also use it to maximize your value in the business world. Some of the ways you can use it include:

Entice the Reader

If you send a long, carefully formatted email to your target market, they are probably going to overlook a lot of it. They have seen it before, they know what matters to them, and their eyes may glaze over as they read it from top to bottom. On the other hand, if you want to entice your readers to pay attention, think carefully, and explore the offer more, you may want to include something at the bottom of the email after a P.S.

Increase your conversion rate

You can also increase the conversion rate of your email marketing campaign if you include a P.S. Your reader is much more likely to see the P.S., and they are less likely to think it has been robotically generated. If you include a link in this portion of the email, they will be more likely to click on it, which will increase your conversion rate.

Emphasize what matters most

Even though you should use your P.S. to discuss things that may not have fit with the rest of the letter or email, you can also use this area to emphasize the most important part of the message. This is particularly important if the messages are there long, and if you are concerned that your reader may have overlooked some of it. If there is a critical point you want your reader to recall, you can restate it in the P.S. portion of the message, making them more likely to remember it.

Include an unrelated note

Do not forget that you can also use this portion of the message to include an unrelated note. If there is something else you want to communicate to the reader, but you did not find a good location to do so in the body of the message, you can simply add a P.S. to the bottom of the email.

Add a bit of flair

Sometimes, you don't want to come across as a robot. One of the easiest ways to do so is to introduce a bit of personality into the email using the PS section. You might use this to add a personal touch, strengthen your relationship with your family members, friends, colleagues, or clients. Think carefully about how you can use this section to introduce personality to your letter or email.

Get the reader’s attention with P.S.

Ultimately, these are just a few of the most important points you need to keep in mind if you are looking to get the most out of your letters or emails. You need to use PS appropriately and professionally. Make sure it is formatted properly, think carefully about what you want to include, and make sure it isn't too long.

Furthermore, you can use this portion of your message to enhance the value of your email marketing campaigns. If you want to maximize the value of your email marketing campaign, put the right tools at your disposal. For example, you may want to use MailChimp, and its myriad of tools, to help you maximize your conversion rate, keep the attention of your target market, and drive revenue growth. It can be an effective tool that will help you stay one step ahead of the competition.

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