“Throwaway copy” is a term we use here for copy that is completely ineffective. It might as well not be there.
It’s “throwaway” because it produces the same response in a reader that most junk mail does.
What makes copy throwaway material? Most amateur copywriters write what they THINK copy is supposed to be like, usually imitating someone else. It’s trite and B-O-R-I-N-G. It doesn’t speak to the people you are trying to sell.
It’s like the classic Far Side cartoon of what a dog gets out of a human’s lecture. The only word they hear is their name.
Every time I see a mission statement on a website or in a brochure or on the wall of a waiting room, I cringe.
NO ONE CARES.
If you are going to sell people or even interest them, you have to talk about what they care about. Not what YOU care about.
So put yourself in your prospects’ shoes. What would interest you?