Publisher: The Cornerstone

Sponsor and Ad Inquiries Thank you for your interest in becoming a sponsor of The Cornerstone website/blog. The site was first established in 2003 under the name Ms. Powell’s Management Ideas for Teachers, and moved to TheCornerstoneForTeachers.com domain in 2008. The old site was connected to the new via 301 redirects so all page ranking and incoming links remained intact. By becoming a sponsor, you have the opportunity to take advantage of The Cornerstone’s 4.2 million page views in 2013. Reach Statistics (current as of 4/1/14) 180,765 incoming links from other education websites (per Google Webmaster Tools) 2,082 newsletter subscribers/message board forum members 4,752 blog subscribers 66,367 Facebook followers 3,416 Twitter followers 805 Google Plus followers 12,021 Pinterest followers In addition, the devotions site (devotions.TheCornerstoneForTeachers.com) has 1,815 subscribers and 3,348 Facebook fans. Traffic Statistics The Cornerstone averaged 400,000 page views per month in 2013, ranging from 350K in the winter/spring (months which historically have always had the lowest traffic) to 550K+ in the summer/fall. Peak traffic months are July-September. Here are the traffic statistics for August 2013 according to Google Analytics: 501,443 page views 124,529 visits 132,131 unique visitors PageRank 4 Page 1 keyword ranking August Page Views Visitor Demographics 87% of site visitors are from the United States, 3% are from Canada, 2% from Australia, 1% from the UK. The remaining 7% are from other countries. 95% of site visitors view the site in English, with a growing number of French translations in the past few months. 93% are female. 94% are aged 24 or older, with 33% between the ages of 25-34 and 32% between the ages of 35-44. Advertisement and Sponsorship Guidelines All ads must have relevance to people within the education community (teachers, parents, homeschoolers, etc.) I reserve the right to reject any ad I deem inappropriate or irrelevant for site visitors, and may remove existing ads at any time. Links must lead to developed websites; no parked domains, spam sites, or adult material. Refunds are not given for any reason. Paid links use the no-follow tag in accordance with Google guidelines. All paid links are disclosed as such even when not required by FTC guidelines, out of respect for my readers. Ad Displays and Text Link Options (All Pages/Posts) There are over 3,000 pages of content on The Cornerstone website/blog. Ad rates vary according to size, placement, and whether you want the ad to appear on every page of the site or selected page(s). Note that all sidebar ads appear below the fold to avoid Google ranking penalties. Sidebar text link: $45 monthly Sidebar 200×200: $65 monthly Footer text link: $35 monthly Footer 480×60 (or similar horizontal): $80 monthly A 10% discount is given for 6 month placement. Full payment is due in advance to qualify for the discount. Ad Displays and Text Link Options (Selected Pages/Posts) You can place ads directly into the end of content on selected pages/posts that are tightly aligned with your site and target demographics. 6 month placement is required and a discount of 20% is given for 12 month placement. Rates are higher for pages that receive more traffic: Text link which appears at the end of a page/post under the header “Sponsored Resources” (or similar wording): $65-$125 per page for 6 months 200×200 (or similar) ad embedded in content (similar to the appearance of Google Adsense): $125-$245 per page for 6 months Discounts are given if you would like to place ads on multiple pages. Permanent link rates are also available. Please note that I do not accept embedded paid links in my regular pages, posts, and other site content, as these are confusing to readers and erode their trust. If you wish to have a link integrated naturally into an article, you should purchase a blog post sponsorship (explained below) which clearly discloses to readers that the article and its link(s) are sponsored. Blog Post Sponsorship Options Due to the large volume of requests for guest blog posts, link displays, and product/site mentions and reviews, I am providing four options for sponsorship on a very limited basis: typically sponsored blog mentions appear no more than once every 3 weeks and sponsored blog features no more than once every 6 weeks. I reserve the right to reject any sponsored mention request for products/sites that I do not believe will provide a substantial benefit to my readers: if I would not use your product/site myself, I will not write a sponsored mention for it. All of these options are also available for static pages on the website: Sponsored Blog Mention: I will compose an original blog post that mentions a topic related to your product, website, etc. For example, an article on transition tips could include a suggestion that teachers use a timer and include a link to the timer your company sells. The post will be no less than 500 words and include no more than 1 link to your product/site. All words and opinions will be my own. Once written, I will send the post for your approval prior to publication, and will promote the blog post via at least 2 social media sites. ($150) Example Sponsored Guest Blog Mention: You may compose your own post to be published on The Cornerstone blog which is about a topic related to your product/company. For example, if you sell gross motor development products for kids, your post would include teachers tips for helping students in the area of motor skills. One mention of your product may be integrated into the post with one link to your product/site. Your post should be 400-700 words. I reserve the right to reject any guest blog post that is not grammatically correct and/or relevant and engaging to educators who read my blog. The tone should be informative yet casual and not overly self-promoting, and must be entirely original so that I do not get penalized by Google for duplicate content. All posts must be approved by me prior to publication and may require revisions. Once published, I will promote the blog post via at least 2 social media sites. ($150) Example 1, Example 2, Example 3 Sponsored Blog Feature: I will compose a blog post that features (is almost entirely about) your product, website, etc. For example, if you have a website that provides math activities for kids, the post could be a review explaining the benefits of your site for children and suggest ways the site could be integrated in the classroom. The post will be no less than 500 words and include no more than 2 links to your product/site. Video reviews are available for a small additional fee and will be uploaded to YouTube. Once written, I will send the post for your approval prior to publication, and will promote the blog post via at least 2 social media sites. ($375) Example Sponsored Guest Blog Feature: You may compose your own post to be published on The Cornerstone blog which features (is almost entirely about) your product, website, etc. For example, if you provide online teacher mentoring services, your post would explain the benefits of your mentoring service for teachers. Your post should be 400-700 words and include no more than 2 links to your product/site. I reserve the right to reject any guest blog post that is not grammatically correct and/or relevant and engaging to educators who read my blog. The tone should be informative yet casual and not overly self-promoting, and must be entirely original so that I do not get penalized by Google for duplicate content. All posts must be approved by me prior to publication and may require revisions. Once published, I will promote the blog post via at least 2 social media sites. ($325) Example 1, Example 2 Brand Ambassadorship: This sponsorship opportunity goes beyond a one-time post or link and encompasses long-term product integration throughout the site and social media. As an ambassador for your site/company/product, I will mention and promote your brand throughout a pre-determined period in ways that are meaningful and relevant to readers. All mentions on my website/blog will be disclosed as a sponsored partnership. There are an extremely limited number of brand ambassadorship opportunities, as I prefer to work with only 1-2 companies at a time, and brands must be extremely high-quality with outstanding resources for educators. Brand ambassadorship rates can be negotiated through cross-promotional ventures: please contact me for more information. Since the creation of this website, I have always (and will continue to always) indicate when a post or product is sponsored. All give-aways and promotional items sent to me are identified as such out of respect for my readers. You can see ALL sponsored posts here. Sponsorship rates may be waived for companies which have a long-standing history with me and/or this website, i.e. some book reviews are provided without compensation other than a review copy and give-away copy. Discounts may be offered to non-profit organizations–just ask! Book Reviews Once every 6-8 weeks, I review a book that is either tightly or loosely related to education. There is no charge for book reviews. My request is that the publisher/author sends me a review copy and an additional copy to give away to a reader. You can see the complete list of book reviews/give-away posts here. Cooperating publishers include ASCD, Jossey-Bass, Eye on Education, Kaplan, and many others. Social Media Promotion All sponsored blog post mentions and features include free promotion on social media. Occasionally, I accept requests to promote teaching-related resources solely via social media without a blog post (Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest). I’ve found that Pinterest drives the most web traffic and is the best way to share resources without making users feel like they are seeing a hard-sell ad. If you are interested in having me share your site/product on any of these three social media sites, please email me to discuss a customized sponsorship plan. Submit Your Request Please send inquiries and proposals via email to me at angelawatson [at[ live [dot] com. Include the following information: Your name Company/site/product Link the ad/sponsorship would go to Text of the ad/sponsorship or description of its content and appearance If you are interested in a sponsorship option you don’t see here, feel free to submit it for my review! Thank you for your cooperation with the guidelines on this page, which are precautions I’ve taken to protect the integrity of the site and respect the time and visitor experience of my readers.