Here are 6 ways

1) Free one-off postings of items in the run of Telecare Aware news stories

This service is free as it is part of my commitment to keeping Telecare Aware readers informed, which boosts reader loyalty. Some suppliers use this more effectively than others. Least effective is to wait until I pick up a press release or news story. More effective is if you send your press release to me. It’s even better if it’s an embargoed copy in advance so I can plan posting days to align with the release date.

You could consider writing some special copy on your website for Telecare Aware, to which I can post a link. However, please make your material as reader-friendly as possible as I do not have time to edit your material - unless you are paying me to do so, of course.

Although the news item postings are one-off, and therefore disappear into the archives as fresh stories are added, anything which helps readers remember it, and which helps me give them a better service, is to your advantage. So the most effective thing is to offer video that I can link to, or create a special offer, etc. for Telecare Aware readers.

2) Free link and paid website pages and links

The number of links on this site under the ‘Useful Sites’ page has grown considerably and I have split them up into different categories. Charities and other not-for-profit organisations have a free live (clickable) link, but suppliers have a non-live listing. Now that readers (and search engines) are regarding Telecare Aware as an ‘authority site’ (a good source of information and therefore worth ranking high for ‘telecare’ searches) then a live link has a value, which I reckon to be worth about £100 pa. For this cost, suppliers can have not only a live link, but a highlighted listing and their own page on the site. See here and follow the A&D links for an example.

A reciprocal link from your site to Telecare Aware is appreciated, but not a condition. For a graphic and some preferred text for the link, see this page http://www.telecareaware.com/linkmaterial/. It also explains how you can add a feed of the Telecare Aware stories to your site.

3) Free publicity through Telecare Aware ‘Soapbox’ or by posting comments on news items

By contributing a suitable ‘thought piece’ on a topic with an element of controversy to the ‘Soapbox’, suppliers can add to their presence on the ‘telecare scene’. I reserve the right to exert some editorial control here, to ensure that the right balance between information/opinion and self-publicity is maintained.

Also, I don’t approve posts reporting rumours that I cannot substantiate from other sources. It is better to email me if you want to tip me off about something.

4) Paid advertising in the sidebars

The site supports image adverts as .GIF or .JPG files, with click-through links to whatever landing page you desire. Adverts that look like text also work well. Prices below are per week, in pounds Sterling, depending on size, as measured in pixels:

180 x 60 pixels £13 (see Foundation for Assistive Technology link for this size)
180 x 90 pixels £18
180 x 120 pixels £23
180 x 150 pixels £28
180 x 180 pixels £33

Adverts in the sidebars appear on every page viewed throughout the site.

Value Added Tax is no longer applicable, and I will often throw in some initial design and/or production help if required.

5) Paid advertising in the email update alerts

A simple text advert, with a link to your landing page, can be placed at the top of the alert email, before people read the update body. The click-through rate on these can be quite high. You can determine the number of mailings and whether the advertising appears in every mailing, alternating mailings or irregularly. It could be particularly good tied to a launch campaign. £20 per mailing, or five mailings for £100.

6) Monthly sponsorship

The first thing all visitors to the news postings will see is your banner placed at the top of each new set of postings. I’m happy for you to provide a banner (505 x 100 pixels, .GIF or .JPG file, size about 30Kb) or to work with you to develop one. For reader goodwill, it is good to incorporate wording along the lines of ‘Telecare Aware is sponsored by…’. This costs £230 per month. (No VAT.) This will include references to the sponsorship at the top of the ‘Telecare Aware Updated’ alert emails when there are no email adverts, as in 5 above.

Payment methods

I can accept payment by PayPal (which now includes all credit cards if you do not have a PayPal account), UK cheque, or electronic bank transfer.

Telecare Aware Visitor profile

I run Google Analytics on the site, which means that, if you wish, I can set you up with access and you can view for yourself the numbers and geographic spread of visitors. Let me know if you would like to do this.

For example, you could see that between 1st and 30th April 2008 there were 2,950 visits from 50 different countries, visits made by 1,782 different people, half of which visited twice or more in the month. Between them they created a total of 7,209 page views. 43% of the visits were direct, meaning that they were probably generated from the news alert emails. 71% of visits were from the UK, 12% from the US, and 15% from the rest of the world, predominantly Canada, India, Netherlands, Ireland, Australia, Spain and Japan.

Email update alerts profile

Whilst visitors do come from search results and some monitor Telecare Aware through their newsfeed readers, I am having a constant trickle of people signing up to receive the email update alerts. As at 29 April 2008 the number is 624 (up 35 in two months). An analysis of the readership profile (sectors and countries) is available on request, but I can say that the majority of the 150 councils with social services responsibilities in the UK – key telecare stakeholders – are well represented. Although you may consider the numbers of readers to be small, they are highly targeted, returning visitors, and people who are often at the heart of their local telecare decision-making process.

Telecare Aware is the only independent source of telecare news for UK readers and one of the few mediums to reach them in which you can pay to advertise.

Queries or questions, please email me!

P.S. Some other services that may interest you

I can also provide more direct help live and online, with websites and PowerPoint presentations, proof reading/rewriting, etc. Visit my ‘Buy my Expertise‘ page for details.