Getting a journal publication is an achievement; but letting the world know about it is essential for career progression. In the academic world flooded with numerous publications, it is important to promote your work amongst your peers and professional colleagues.
At the same time, it is also important to keep track of the reach and impact of your article. The real merit of a publication is not just the number of reads but also number of citation and recall of the article.
Here are some important tools to promote your article and keep track of it.
- Normally journals share pdf of published articles which one can share via mail to colleagues and targeted audiences. Do ensure to ask the journals to provide your e-mail id or professional account links in your profile. You can also share digital links of the articlewhich increases chances of clicks and thereby online readership of your article.
- It is advisable to share printed copies of the article with seniors, peers and especially those whose articles you have used as citation in your own article,along with a short note of introduction or expressing gratitude, as the case may be. Sharing physical copies also raises chances of citation for your own article, and it is a good way of getting acquainted in the peer group.
- Regularly update your university web page, your personal professional accounts or blogs with your publications. Share short briefs of your research with keywords. This will help your profile be highlighted in general Google searches on the field of you your research by other academicians unknown to you.
- Use social media platforms for outreach. LinkedIn, Twitter posts or blogs are useful means of promoting one’s article. You can also post links of your article on general online platforms or blogs where you interact with other academicians for online discussions on research Use hashtags or keywords to link your article to relevant topics.
- It is advisable to get an ORCID registration for yourself. ORCID or Open Research and Contributor ID is a unique ID for every individual which can then be used to track all publications and citation This helps avoid confusions over names, referencing, or mistaken identification. By registering and using an ORCID ID you can easily distinguish yourself and assure that your work is attributed only to yourself.
- While there exist other platforms and databases which cover a portion of your total output (e.g. Scopus or Web of Science), or only certain types of outputs (e.g. journal articles), you can add all of your publications, works and activities to your ORCID record to create a comprehensive listing in one place, including outputs like datasets, peer review activities and more.
Besides accounts in such platforms, it is also advisable to create a simple Google alert for yourself. This is an easy tool to get records of which all digital platforms are best serving your purpose.
