Breathe, Robin. Breathe.

I just clicked away from a website for a elementary school teacher/tutor down in Southern California that a friend sent me with a single question:

Would you allow her to teach writing?

Cheez um crow, NO WAY!

The headline on her home page:

Take charge of your childs education:

This is not a joke. At least she’s consistent, or perhaps she hasn’t got an apostrophe on her keyboard, but she never uses the possessive on the entire site. The content is redundant and unclear. Most embarrassing, perhaps, are her steady references to her “Masters in Education degree in progress”. Doesn’t bode well for higher ed in America, does it?

I have an acquaintance who runs a home staging business. Business is not too good for her right now, primarily because of the housing market, likely. But could it also be the homepage on her website? It reads:

[NAME OF BUSINESS] believes first impressions are everything. We give your home a distinct advantage over the competition. Our goal when staging your property is to place the home in the best showcase condition by defining each rooms purpose

Okay, I’ll admit that perhaps only an English major would notice the lack of apostrophe in that last sentence. But again, if there are problems with redundancy and common errors throughout the site, it will be noticed by potential customers. Perhaps you disagree? Is the written possessive dead? Am I obsessing over exceedingly trivial matters?

Okay, okay, I have to admit,  I would totally still hire this company for staging my home. They have recently redone this site and found most of the errors I noticed the first time I checked it out. Good Job! They have great before and after photos in their portfolio and the site looks professional.  The only problems are minor.

But, for certain know that I would NEVER hire that tutor. I would RUN in the opposite direction.

For as little as $35, a skilled proofreader can be your second set of eyes and can save you public humiliation and lost business. Even if it isn’t me, find someone!

www.TwoSongbirdsPress.com