Copywriting

The PS line, the most-read sentence you keep wasting

Published 29 October 2026 · 4 min read · By Ripe Leads

The short answer

The PS is read more often than most of the email, because eyes jump to it. That makes it prime space, not a place for filler. Use it for one extra hook: a proof point, a light second angle, or a low-friction alternative ask. One PS, used with intent, and never a second pitch stacked on the first.

People skim cold emails and their eyes land on two places: the first line and the PS. Everyone works on the first line and treats the PS as a throwaway, which wastes the second-most-read sentence in the whole message.

Why the PS gets read

A PS visually separates from the body, so it catches the eye of a skimmer who skipped the middle. That is a quirk of how people read, and it makes the PS unusually valuable real estate for its size.

Wasted on P.S. Looking forward to hearing from you, it does nothing. Used deliberately, it is a second chance to land the point.

What to put there

Pick one job for it, not three.

A proof point, a relevant result or peer that adds credibility.
A lighter second angle, a different reason this matters to them.
A low-friction alternative ask, easier than the main one.
A specific, relevant detail that reinforces you actually looked.

One PS, one job

The temptation is to cram the PS with a second pitch, another link, three more benefits. That undoes it. A PS works because it is short and pointed; loaded up, it becomes more noise and loses the attention it was catching. Give it a single job and stop.

1One idea in the PS. It is read because it is short and separate; fill it with a second pitch and it stops working.

It does not rescue a weak email

A good PS improves a good email; it does not save a bad one. If the list is wrong or the body is generic, no clever postscript changes the outcome. The PS is a finishing touch on fundamentals that already work: the right prospect, a relevant point, a clear ask.

Treat it as a small optimisation once the basics are right, not as the trick that makes cold email work.

Keep it human

Like the rest of a cold email, the PS should sound like a person, not a marketing sign-off. A natural, specific afterthought reads as genuine; a slick call-to-action in PS clothing reads as the sales email it is. Match it to the plain, personal tone the whole message needs.

Frequently asked

Should a cold email have a PS line?

It can be worth one, used deliberately. The PS is one of the most-read parts of a cold email because skimming eyes jump to it, so it is prime space for a single extra hook: a proof point, a lighter second angle, or a low-friction alternative ask. Wasted on filler like looking forward to hearing from you, it does nothing.

What should I put in a cold email PS?

One thing, not three: a relevant proof point that adds credibility, a different angle on why the message matters to that prospect, an easier alternative ask than the main one, or a specific detail that reinforces you actually looked. The PS works because it is short and pointed, so give it a single job and resist stacking a second pitch into it.

Does a PS line actually improve reply rates?

A good PS improves a good email, but it does not rescue a weak one. If the list is wrong or the body is generic, no clever postscript changes the outcome. Treat the PS as a small optimisation once the fundamentals, the right prospect, a relevant point and a clear ask, are already in place, not as the trick that makes cold email work.

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