Promote your writing

Publication of your research is not an end in itself. You want researchers, practitioners, students and others to read your publications, and to use your findings to further conservation science, practice and scholarship. As part of this process you also want others to cite your writing, as this is one potential indicator of the value of your research.

A journal will help to publicize your article as part of the overall effort of journal marketing. But there is much that you can do, in addition, to ensure that your article is read, has an impact, and is cited. Publication is only the first step. Using ORCID and making your Google Scholar profile public are valuable adjuncts to your general research profile, and there are additional steps that you can take, both before publication and after publication to improve the visibiltiy and discoverability of your work.

[Early purple orchid _Orchis mascula_](https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/early-purple-orchid){target='_blank'} (©Martin Fisher), not to be confused with [ORCID](https://orcid.org){target='_blank'}.Figure 78: Early purple orchid Orchis mascula (©Martin Fisher), not to be confused with ORCID.

Use ORCID

Personal names are rarely unique, making it difficult to trace the unique works of individual authors. imageORCID, a not-for-profit organization, provides a nonproprietary alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies authors. After you have registered for an ORCID iD you can use your personal identifier throughout your career to ensure that you receive credit for your work, and you can share information about your work on your public ORCID record.53 e.g. imagehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5044-2585 Using your ORCID iD on your personal or organizational webpage, publications and grant applications will help ensure you receive credit for your work. Many journal submission systems now mandate that at least the corresponding author has an ORCID iD. There are other individual identifier systems available, but ORCID has become the de facto standard and is supported by many publishers and universities.

Make your Google Scholar profile public

To set up a Google Scholar profile you will need a gmail account and an institutional e-mail for verification. Google Scholar will search for your publications, and you can edit the list of publications, removing any that you have not authored and adding any that were not automatically located.

You can choose to make your profile public, which will allow people to see all of your publications in one location, and allow you to monitor citations of your work. Don’t be shy about making your profile public, even if you are only at the beginning of your career, as it is a great way to help improve the discoverability of your research.

Before publication

Optimize your article for search engines

Potential readers will usually find your article through an online search, and therefore you need to ensure your article is discoverable. Search engines typically display results in pages of 10 articles. How can you ensure that a search on the most relevant keywords for your article puts it on the first page? You need to search engine optimize your article.

A strategy for this begins with the writing. Choose a small number of keywords (10 or fewer) and use them in the Title, Abstract and Keywords, focusing on the following points:

  • In the title, use keywords, key phrases (up to four words), or a mixture of both.

  • Choose words /phrases that you and others in your field would typically use for research on this topic.

  • If your title has two parts—perhaps separated by a colon—place the most important keywords/key phrases in the first part of the title.

  • Choose your keywords/key phrases to appeal to both a specialist and a broad readership.

  • Repeat the most important keywords/key phrases several times in the abstract, and other keywords/key phrases at least once.

  • Include these keywords/key phrases in the keywords, with the addition of synonyms if possible (i.e. alternative keywords/key phrases for the same subject that you and others in your field would typically use for research on this topic).

You can use Google Trends to examine which search terms are currently popular.

Prepare a press release

A press release is normally prepared in advance of publication, and may be released under an embargo; i.e. the contents should not be referred to or published until the specified date, which will be that on which the article is published. Typically, a press release is a short summary of the most noteworthy findings and/or implications of your research, written in non-technical language. A press release is usually issued by the institute, university or organization with which you were working when the research was carried out. If your organization does not have the facilities for issuing a press release, the journal’s editorial office and/or publisher may be able to help with this.

Prepare a blog post

Writing about your research in general, or a particular article that you have written—on your own blog, that of your institution, or that of a journal54 See the Oryx blog blog for an example.—allows you to communicate your work to a wide audience.55 A Guide to Blogging , by Cambridge University Press provides some guidance.

Prepare a video

Nothing communicates your message to a general audience better than a video—even if it is only a short video in which you briefly summarize the research. The video could be incorporated into a blog. Clavero et al. (2018) prepared a fascinating video (Figure 79) of their research on the relict Dades trout.

Figure 79: Sin lugar hacia el que nadar / Nowhere to swim.

After publication

Publicize your article on social media

Social media outlets (Twitter, Facebook) have become a poular way to publicize research findings.

Twitter allows you to engage directly with your audience using #hashtags.56 A Guide to Using Twitter, by Cambridge University Press, provides useful starting advice. You can search for relevant #hashtags in your subject area and use them to engage with those communities.

Setting up an Author Facebook Page via your Facebook57 How to set up an Author Facebook Page and Why should I use my Author Facebook page?, by Cambridge University Press, are useful starting points. account allows you to communicate directly with your audience and for followers to respond to your posts.

There are a few points to bear in mind when promoting your work on social media:

  • Use relevant images, as this helps to engage your audience.

  • Be direct and clear, and use the active voice.

  • Use non-technical language

Disseminate your article on Kudos and ResearchGate

Kudos is a platform that ‘helps researchers…maximize the visibility and impact of their published articles’. It allows you to claim all of your publications in one place, helps to increase, and monitor, the usage and citation of your work, and provides tools to help you increase the visibility of your publications.

A ResearchGate profile can help you make your research more visible, and can be used to share your research, engage with your peers and monitor usage of your articles.

Share your work on Zotero or Mendeley (or both)

The Zotero and Mendeley reference managers help you collect, organize, cite and share your research sources. Both have facilities for sharing your articles—if appropriate—with other users. To do this you require a Zotero or Mendeley account. An article added to the My Publications collection/folder of the software will appear on your public profile, making you discoverable amongst the users of the software.

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