Authors

Ten tips to increase impact

So your manuscript has been accepted? Congratulations! Now what do you do? Sit back, relax and wait for the readers to come?

Ten tips to increase impact

So your manuscript has been accepted? Congratulations!  Now what do you do? Sit back, relax and wait for the readers to come?

With a growing research output worldwide there is increasing emphasis on authors to promote their own published research.  

These 10 tips will help you maximise the discoverability, readership and impact of your work. Spend just 10 minutes doing 2 or 3 of these every month to have an effect.

Update the web. Keep your professional profile on your institution’s website up-to-date with links to your latest research. You might also consider linking to your article elsewhere, such as Wikipedia.

Top tip! Putting the hyperlink behind the article title rather than a ‘read more’ link ensures Google will rank you that little bit higher.

Use academic networking sites to link to your article and network with the people who are most likely to read your research. ResearchGate, Mendeley and LinkedIn are all great options to increase your professional visibility. Don’t forget to network in real life too!

Use multimedia to add a new dimension to your paper: podcasts, videos, conference slides etc. These can be featured in Bioscientifica’s marketing – contact the office if you have something to offer.

Consider issuing a press release through the Bioscientifica press office.  Having your work covered by news outlets can greatly increase your readership, both within and beyond academia.

Posting on social media sites is a quick and easy way to alert a wide audience to your new publication. Include the journal’s Twitter account to get a retweet.

Top tip! Use hashtags relevant to your field to increase your discoverability – it doesn’t matter how many followers you have.

There are several social media sites, from Weibo to Instagram, decide which is best for you and your research.

Sign-up to the journal newsletter and table of contents alerts so that you can forward coverage of your paper to interested colleagues.

Write an easily understandable version of your abstract for a wider audience. Be proud of your work and talk about it at every opportunity!

Think beyond English; whilst English is the language of science, translation can open your article up to bigger audiences. The translated version can be self-archived online. Reproduction publishes translated abstracts. 

Don’t have the time? Forward your article to colleagues and let them know about Bioscientifica’s Google translate function.

 A blog is an ideal way to promote your research as it gives you the platform to add additional information about your research and raise your professional profile. Blogs may also open you up to new collaboration opportunities.

Use your email signature to your advantage. Linking to your latest publication in your email signature is a great way to increase the number of downloads that paper receives.

Top tip! Add non-traditional contact data to your signature, like your professional profile URL and your Twitter handle.

Finally, watch as your reach expands – monitor your article’s impact with article-level metrics, available on all Bioscientifica journals.

Want to know more?

Hear from Senior Editor of Journal of Endocrinology, Ross Laybutt, for more tips: