Example 1. A national recruiting company with offices across the country

                 Page Reference: Service Lines, Partnership

                 Quoted exactly as it reads on the page, including punctuation:

+ One point of contact for all your staffing needs;

+ Maximum efficiency in non-core functions;

+ Staffing costs that are variable rather then fixed;

+ Increased productivity that drives profitability

Can you spot the errors? There are 2.

Hint: 3rd and 4th lines

Answer: 3rd line: "then" s/b "than" ... I doubt that they meant what this indicates!

            4th line: punctuation should be consistent with lines 1, 2, and 3

            Actually, best practise would be to have no end-of-line punctuation for all points

Example 2. A web marketing company with a target market of public and private schools

                 Page Reference: index page: Complimentary Executive White Paper

Quote:          "Marketing Practices of Top Performing Schools"

Call (name) Resources at (000) 000-0000 (Pacific Standard Time) If you have a burning issue that you want a quick second opinion on, we'd be happy to offer some quick advice.

Can you spot the errors?

Hint: In addition to grammatical and punctuation errors, there is an HTML gaffe as well: linking the "f" in If ... was it part of the development plan? Probably not! (I've masked the email address and real phone number.)

Answers: 1. Titles should not have quotes. Bolding the text is sufficient!

             2. Proper spelling of "practices" in this case is "practises"

             3. A phone number and then time zone, but no office hours...

             4. Beginning a sentence without ending the previous one

             5. Two instances of the same word "quick" in one sentence

             6. Composition is not business-oriented

Yes, I am a stickler for accuracy, proper grammar and syntax!

Here are some samples of my web copy writing:

For a Tourism website (2007):

It's 7 am on Saturday morning. Vendors are beginning to arrive at Centennial Park in downtown Ganges... vans, cars and trucks loaded with tables, tents, banners and display cases, brimming with everything you could possibly imagine and much more. A trip to Salt Spring isn't complete without a day at the Saturday Market! In July and August it seems as if half of Salt Spring is there... in addition to the visitors!

One of the requirements of Market vending is that everything must be made or grown on Salt Spring.

Here you will see, taste and smell the essence of the island: fresh organically-grown vegetables and fruit, picked that very morning. Flowers, breads, cheeses, baked goods, hot foods prepared while you watch, specialty tea and coffee, seafood, condiments, wildly-imaginative crafts alongside fine art, lots of exquisite jewellery, beautiful clothing and accessories, carvings, paintings, sculpture, turned wood, glassware, body care, candles and essential oils, the list goes on and on!

Everything is grown and made right here by people who live here. There is great entertainment by local musicians and performers, and it's all free.

Plan on going early, say around 9 or 9:30, because some of the food vendors will be all sold out before noon! On sunny days in the summertime you will see a few vendors still there at 4 pm, but the best time to go is in the morning, before the crowds arrive. (You can sleep in tomorrow!)

A number of the artists and artisans on the Studio Tour can be found at the Market on Saturdays. If Saturday is the only day you can come to the island, this is a great opportunity to meet all these artisans in one place.

For a Fashion Blog (2007):

TRENDS - Animal Prints - Always in Style  

When have they ever gone OUT of style? Animal prints have been around forever, from our earliest ancestors' use of skins for clothing to Victorian status symbols in carpets, furniture, and stuffed heads gracing high society's library walls.

Translated into fabrics, what began as racy lingerie 50 years ago moved into the realm of "daring" in the late 70's and early 80's, progressed to "fashion statement" in the 90's and now enjoys exalted status, thanks to fashion leaders like Dolce & Gabbana, Manolo Blahnik and Gucci, as a dominant feature in clothing, shoes, accessories and jewellery.

Check out any fashion magazine, from Vogue to Simplicity Patterns, any retailer, from Neiman Marcus to Wal-Mart, and there they are, larger than life and in a rainbow of colors: traditional zebra, tiger and leopard along with new-fangled giraffe and faux turtle, lizard and snakeskin, adorning anything and everything you can imagine: underwear, dresses, pants, scarves, belts, hats, gloves, trim, shoes, hair accessories, watchbands, handbags, and of course, ta-da! - jewellery.

We've come a long way from the days when buying leopard-print underwear was akin to having L-O-O-S-E written in bold, indelible red ink across one's forehead. Now it just means you're chic.

For a Town website (2003):

Welcome to Fort Macleod - the town that is building its future by preserving its past.

Fort Macleod is a vibrant community of 3,000, located within breathtaking sight of the Canadian Rockies. This town is a magnet for those who are seeking a relaxed rural life style: proximity to the Rocky Mountains, a strong sense of community, access to high speed internet and a short drive to Western Canada's corporate capital, Calgary. And, it's only an hour drive to the scenic wonders of the Rockies!

The town boasts the best weather of the Prairie Provinces, including the highest number of sunlight hours in Canada. The Chinook conditions provide mild winters and cooling breezes in the summer.

Whether you are coming for a visit, reading about our history, contacting a town official, reviewing a town by-law, considering the advantages of locating your business in this family-friendly community or just surfing on in, you are welcome.

For a Blog called The Fragrant Robot (2009):

(This is "off the top of my head", ie improvised on a moment's notice)

Page Heading:

Daily meanderings through the electrical pathways and circuits of a wired brain. Who am I? Why am I here? Why does everything matter, or not? Burning questions. I intend to find the answers before the final nanosecond of my end-of-life cycle.

Entry 1: The Very First Day

My brain, I think, is tired. How can I tell? Well, it's not behaving properly. What should be easily-remembered 20-digit algorithms and sequences seem to be shorting out, leaving me with half-finished algebraic sandwiches. Food for thought, but slightly overcooked.

Entry 2: No Rest for Wicked Machinery

As well as the newly-recognized algorithmic fusebox blowout, I am now dealing with a very odd sensation, similar to the "pins and needles" syndrome, brought on by lack of activity. I have titanium joints, so they won't rust, but there seems to be some aluminum in there somewhere that is causing a short-circus. Er, circuit.

Does your copy need to be a friendly, newsy style or professional and business-oriented? Do you need Policies and Procedures, or an advertising/marketing perspective? Do you have a Logo? Does your business need to create  a "brand"?

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