Did you know that somewhere around 50% of all websites have one or more of the following problems?

* typing errors

* spelling mistakes

* grammatical problems

* punctuation problems.

Wow! A whopping 50%!

Hard to believe??

No, I don't think it is.

In my daily business life I briefly skim or read anywhere up to hundreds of web pages, brochures, flyers, business cards and emails per day.

I'm lucky - I've got a *proofreader's eye* [I'll give it back soon - haha] which means that mistakes like those mentioned above just JUMP OFF THE PAGE and draw my attention to them.

I can't help myself - I'm a wordsmith, a lover of words, and despite all those years at school with my eyes rolling back in my head with boredom during the English class, the information somehow seeped into my brain and it stuck.

Now I'm one of those people who wants to correct the mistakes on restaurant menus, much to the horror of my friends and biz associates. I used to carry a red pen [to make corrections ... :o>] but I've been banned from doing that.

How many times have I seen this doozy, in print, on websites and on big signs and billboards outside stores:

*For all your stationary needs, visit Blahblahblah Company!*

See how they spelt *stationAry*, with an *a*??

Don't they know this means *standing still, not moving* when spelt this way??

Obviously not. So how to remember HOW to spell it? I have a little saying which I learnt as a child:

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E is for ENVELOPE.

A is for APPLE.

StationEry with an E for Envelope.

StationAry with an A for Apple.

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The thinking behind this is that an apple sits still, so therefore is *stationAry*, and an Envelope is one piece of *stationEry* with an E. For more info, visit this page: http://humbleapostrophe.com/

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YOUR / YOU'RE / YORE

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If you want to say, *Your shoes are lovely.*, use YOUR.

If you want to say, *You're late!!*, use YOU'RE, which is the shortened version of YOU ARE.

If you want to talk about historical times, you might say, *In days of yore, there were no motor vehicles.*, and use YORE.

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COMMON BOOBOOS ONLINE TODAY!

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1. I see this one all the time, and spotted this on a top affiliate website:

==> One of the biggest mistakes I see affiliates making everyday is that **their** building a short-term business

The word **their** in the sentence above is used incorrectly.

It SHOULD be written as **they're**, which is the shortened version of **they are**.

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2. On a recruitment site I spotted the following:

==> Currently we have a number of temporary **vacancy's**.

WRONG!!!!! No need for an apostrophe in the sentence above!

The word **vacancy's** should be written as **vacancies**, which is the plural form of the word vacancy.

To put an apostrophe at the end of the word and add an *s* means you want to show ownership of something ... so ask yourself, *What do the vacancies OWN?*. Of course they own zip, nada, nothing ... so DON'T use an apostrophe here.

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3. On the same recruitment site I spotted this:

==> If you happen to be a Secretary or Administrator with 3-5+ years of experience and **your** looking to make your next move ...

The word **your** in the sentence above is used incorrectly. It SHOULD be written as **you're**, which is the shortened version of **you are**.

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The key to avoiding these glaring errors is as follows:

* admit you might be tired or you might have read your text too many times to be able to notice any problems

* admit that spelling and grammar might not be your best skills

* acknowledge that you want your text, document, website etc to be the BEST IT CAN BE

* ask one or more friends or associates to read the text for you - reading something with a fresh *eye* can quickly spot mistakes

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What's the BIGGEST PROOFREADING BOOBOO?

People proofread the small print, the regular text and FORGET to proof the MAJOR HEADINGS.

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What should be proofread?

* business cards - I wish I had a dollar for every one I've seen with a typo on it

* contracts

* documents

* letters

* website content

* website links [quite often a typo will send a visitor into cyberspace]

* a series of autoresponders, or email course

* newsletters - online AND offline

* ebooks, especially as these will be around for many many years to come

* any document which will reflect on you or your business, in any way.

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WHAT'S WORSE THAN MAKING TYPOS & ERRORS?

Not being able to see them in the first place.

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COULD THIS BE YOU?

You've launched your website, you've done a great job ... and you didn't ask anyone to help you proofread your site, just to give you an opinion. You're wondering why you're not getting any clients, and no-one is signing up for your newsletter. What on earth could be the problem? Ahhhhhhh ... some kind soul finally emails you to tell you they were offended by a phrase on your home page. Yikes! This could have been avoided!!

Sometimes when we work on something for such a long time, we are immune to it in many ways - when we read over text again and again, we can't see the mistakes.

Let someone with a fresh eye do this for you.

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STOP mistakes BEFORE they are a problem

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Unproofed websites show unprofessional regard. Don't get caught out - ask someone to proof your site today!

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The main thing to understand is that not everyone is great at everything. You're probably great at selling your product or service - that doesn't mean you have to be great at proofreading too.

Let someone else do that for you - whether it's a friend, business associate or professional proofreader, do yourself a favor and let your words BE THE BEST THAT THEY CAN BE. If you have any questions, pop over to this page and type me a message: http://tinyurl.com/8az2v

Good luck,

Teena!

Psst! If you'd like to get the not-too-annoyingly-regular ezine from Teena, the Apostrophe Queen, pop over to the website and sign up on the *Hot Apostrophe* Newsletter page. You'll get tips, tricks and some things to make you really really think hard. :o>

Teena Hughes has over 20 years of proofreading experience in Australia, USA, and Europe, and has been Editor for publications in several countries. Teena's love of the apostrophe became a highly popular website, and Teena is known as *The Apostrophe Queen*. Visit the site to learn when and how to use apostrophes, pick up tips on spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Sign up for the free Newsletter, at http://www.ApostropheQueen.com