Donating to Haiti, via Effective Copywriting

We have all been deeply saddened by the horrifying events in Haiti. A series of massive earthquakes has taken the lives of thousands of Haitians. It has devastated and destroyed the lives of millions more.

Families being torn apart by disaster is something we see unfold on the News all too often. The Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, earthquakes in Pakistan and Italy, and now it’s Haiti’s turn to suffer and endure the wrath of mother nature.

All of these events have led to hugely generous donations from people all over the world. Appeals are made in newspapers, on television and by charities, all urging You to give generously to people in desperate need. While these have been successful campaigns to help raise funds for victims, there are still far too many people who are not actively lending their support.

This is not necessarily people who are unwilling to donate, but more likely people who are unaware of how they can donate. In today’s modern society of mobile phones and social media, the internet has become an increasingly popular way to appeal directly to everyone who has the ability to donate.

Many of the most popular websites on the internet have launched their own appeals for the cause. Facebook, Google and eBay, to name but a few, have all added ‘donation links’ to their Home Pages – making it easy to find, somewhat unavoidable in some cases.

A similar theme has been set up by the American Red Cross – donators simply text ‘HAITI’ to 20222 – and $10 is automatically added to their phone bill, going directly to the relief fund.

Adding donation links to popular websites is one thing, but how exactly does this make donating appealable to as many people as possible. Are the general rules of copywriting obeyed in the same format to a piece of sales copy? After all, it is the same basic concept – persuading a reader to part with their cash. Is the language different? How are key words and emotive words used to attract the attention of the wider audience?

Facebook
The most popular social networking site on the web, with around 321 million people registered worldwide. Their Haiti appeal is very open, thoughtful and most notable for me, personifying.

General emails and contact from Facebook are very generic, obviously sent out in bulk, with little emotion or personifying key words. This is of no detriment to Facebook – the whole point in the website is for its users to interact with each other, Facebook merely acts as the host.

The devastation in Haiti, however, has given Facebook reason to speak directly to each and every user. The appeal is not aimed to be a generic email which will blend in with all the others. It serves a different purpose, an important purpose, and it has to come across as speaking directly from the heart and to each user personally.

This is achieved by using power words such as: ‘destruction’, ‘death’, ‘outpouring’ and ‘thousands’. These words are unusual for Facebook, so stand out in peoples minds – it proves the sheer scale of the atrocity. It is basically saying: ‘something has to be done, and this is Your chance to help’.

Google
In the early days of Google, there were very few words on the home Page: ‘Google’, ‘Search’ and ‘I feel lucky’. With the immense popularity of Google, this has inevitably changed. There is now Google mail, Google Ads, blogging options and a range of other services displayed on the Home Page.

However, there are still very few words, and the page is dominantly filled with white space, making any new or additional text stand out. There is currently a link under the main search box which states:

‘Information, resources, and ways you can help survivors of the Haiti earthquake.’

By clicking on this link you are taken to a donation page which is titled: ‘Crisis Response’.

While the actual copy is not as personable or emotive as the Facebook page, it is still very effective. There is a brief description reminding of the magnitude of the earthquake, and also a line in bold which reads:

‘Google will also donate $1 million’.

This being highlighted shows the enormity of what has happened, and the importance to give whatever you can to the relief funds.

The main selling point of the page is the two links where you can donate. There are two options to choose from: Oxfam or Unicef. You simply enter the amount in £’s that you want to donate, and click ‘donate’. Very simple, very effective and very clever.

The point in providing two charities to choose from is a clever tool in itself. Obviously, both will use your money to help in Haiti, but they will both be doing different things. A brief description of what the charities will be using your money for is supplied under the logo. Oxfam will be concentrating on providing shelter and clean water – Unicef will be concentrating on food and medical supplies, with particular emphasis on children.

The work being carried out by both charities is essential to the people of Haiti. While one is providing water, the other is providing food – people will realise that they must contribute to both charities to give the best support possible.

The charities are not working against each other – they are working with each other to do the best for the people of Haiti.

Clever marketing technique? Effective copywriting? Yes and yes.

Who benefits? The people of Haiti.

EBay
EBay takes quite a different approach. Whereas Google is very plain, simple and generous, eBay, in my opinion, attempts to use the donation link as a way to boost its own profits.

Is this unethical? Or is it just clever business?

EBay is encouraging people to donate up to 100% of their Sale profits to the Haiti fund. This encourages people to place products on eBay to raise funds for donation. It also persuades people to buy products so that their money can be donated, whilst getting something in return for themselves (the product purchased).

While this is great for the relief effort in Haiti – what it’s all about – for every item placed onto eBay, eBay makes a profit. Insertion fee, and then a final value fee.

There is the encouragement for people to use eBay more (as it helps people in Haiti), and at the same time, eBay itself is making a profit from the additional auctions.

I must stress, though, that eBay does supply a ‘Donate via PayPal’ link. EBay is also the only site out of the three to include emotive images. Images of the devastation – people can see what they are donating for. They do not have to read, actions often do speak louder than words.

The text they use, although shorter in length, is very similar to that of Facebook: ‘destruction’, ‘critical’ and ‘mass devastation’ are strong attempts to tug on the heartstrings of potential donators.

Conclusion
So, has clever copywriting been involved in the making of the various donation links? Each has clearly been well thought through. How they layout the page, how they format their sentences and how they use emotive language has all been done carefully.

Each has applied a different technique to really draw in the donator. Facebook concentrated on appearing personal to the user through terms such as: ‘Dear friends’ and pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘you’. The main invigorator, however, is the use of terms to describe what is going on in Haiti: ‘death’ and ‘destruction’.

Google appears very simple and easy to use and understand. This will have broader appeal to a wider, larger audience. In showing that Google themselves are donating $1 million, it shows just how important it is to give as much as you can, as the people of Haiti are in desperate need.

EBay uses a mixture of emotive language and images, and also has various options on how you can donate. This is an attempt to attract a wider audience – donate through buying, selling or directly through PayPal – but also sees a good marketing opportunity.

All have used proven copywriting techniques, however, the focus is much more on what they are donating for, as oppose to the benefits that the donator will get in return. While this goes against the number one rule of sales copy – people only want to know what is in it for them – it has undoubtedly proved a successful way of obtaining donations to the people of Haiti.