Publishing Plan Toolkit

• Sign up for an ORCID to track your research publications and other outputs
• Link your ORCID to your ScopusID and ResearcherID. Publications captured by Scopus and Web of Science will be pushed to your ORCID
• Consider Search Engine Optimisation techniques when writing your title, abstract and keywords to maximise the exposure of your research
• Use a standardised version of your affiliation on all publications
• Check if your potential publisher has a press embargo for work under consideration.

Opportunities for you to promote your work before formal publication include:

Preprint servers

A preprint is a version of your research made available before peer review and publication. There are a variety of preprint servers for different disciplines where you can deposit your paper. Some popular ones are:

• Arxiv for papers in Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Quantitative Biology, Quantitative Finance, Statistics, Electrical Engineering and Systems Science, and Economics
• SocArxiv for papers in the social sciences
• Repec for papers in economics and related sciences
• BioRxiv for papers in the life sciences

Conferences or workshops

Engage with your research community by presenting your work at conferences or workshops. Often, you can begin to promote your work during the research phase at conferences and workshops to communicate your research to a broader audience. You may be able to give a conference presentation that discusses your progress to date and the next steps you intend to take. This will generate interest in your research, which you can follow up on when your article is published.

Research Networks

• Join academic social networks like ResearchGate and Academia.edu. Share preprints, engage in discussions, and connect with researchers in your field.

• Share teasers or key findings on social media platforms to generate interest.

Collaborate with Peers

• Share your findings with colleagues and collaborators.
• Seek collaborations with colleagues and experts in your field to build anticipation around your upcoming publication. Their feedback and support can enhance the quality of your research.

• Deposit your full-text open access version of your manuscript to Research Profiles and Repository or publish in an open access journal so more people can read your research
• If you used a dataset as part of your publication, the Library can help you create a record to describe and deposit your dataset into Research Profiles and Repository. The Library can also mint a DOI for your dataset, which can be used to site it

Once you have received notification from the publisher that your article is published, you can use various tools and resources to promote your work and make it available to as wide (and as appropriate) an audience as possible.

Journal website

Share links to the published paper on the journal's website to reach a broader audience. Many publishers will grant you limited downloads or access views to your article. For example, Elsevier Share Links service allows a limited number of days of free access via direct URL. It is best to share these links with colleagues and collaborators outside academia who may not have access to the journal or database. Always check with your publisher to see if you can share your work this way.

Your email signature is another place to highlight your publications by including links to your Researcher Profile and your most recent publications.

Social Media

Researchers are increasingly utilising social media to raise awareness of their profile, research activities and outputs in both scholarly and non-scholarly communities. Share links to the published paper across your social media channels to reach a broader audience.

Selecting and maintaining the most appropriate social media platforms for your discipline is important.

• Find out where your peers in your field of research are participating.
• Join relevant communities of practice.
• Establish relationships with potential collaborators.
• Promote news of your research activities and outputs. Utilise institutional press releases and newsletters to showcase your achievement.
• Create visually appealing summaries like infographics or short videos to communicate your research to a broader audience.

There are numerous social media platforms you can use to promote your work. Researchers in your discipline may use a particular platform, and you should concentrate your efforts there. Ensure that your professional social media use is carefully separated from your personal social media use.

When you post details of your article, add a DOI link (the DOI link will look something like this: https://doi.org/) to your published article in Research Profiles and Repository so you can also track its downloads and citations using your free Altmetric Explorer account.

• Many researchers use Twitter, and there are often discipline-based hashtags, such as #digitalhumanities or #quantumphysics, that you can follow and use to promote your research. The London School of Economics has created Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities: a guide for academics and researchers, which can help you use Twitter to your advantage. Find out more about how to tweet your research. The Office of Marketing and Communications offers guidance and advice to WSU researchers on using social media.
• WeChat is the most popular social media app in China and is increasingly popular internationally. Using WeChat may give you more opportunities to connect with other researchers and promote your research.
• LinkedIn is another place you can connect with researchers in your discipline. To make the most of your LinkedIn profile, you may like to read these 7 tips to supercharge your academic LinkedIn profile.
• Add a link to your article to your email signature.
• Add your article to your students' reading lists.
• Put a DOI link to your article on your institutional profile page, your personal webpage, or any project website. You don’t have to just paste the DOI link, you could even think about writing a few introductory lines to your article to grab people’s attention.
• Is your article newsworthy? Think about speaking to your university’s press office (and if you create a press release, don’t forget to tell your publisher so they can spread the word too).
• And finally, if you blog, don't forget to include your article along with the DOI link. Find out how to make blogging work for you.

Institutional Repository

Research Profiles and Repository is Western Sydney University's institutional repository. It aims to create global visibility and accessibility of WSU’s scholarly research by:

• enhancing the discovery of WSU research via search engines such as Google and Trove
• allowing researchers to deposit publications, datasets and open access materials and to view publication metrics
• maintaining a complete and accurate record of all WSU research publications and research data sets that feeds into central WSU systems, including WSU Researchers and the Academic Portal
• enabling government reporting such as the Australian Research Council’s Excellence in Research for Australia and the Engagement and Impact Assessment
• supporting the deposit of open access publications to make WSU research globally accessible
• preserving and making digitised materials accessible to the world, including HDR theses, photographs, audio materials, videos, manuscripts and other original works.

Using Research Profiles and Repository allows you to:

• get credit for your research
• promote/showcase your research
• meet the requirements of open access compliance and institutional reporting
• keep track of your research metrics.

For more information, see the Research Profiles and Repository Guidelines.

Professional networks

• Present your research at conferences, workshops, or seminars.
• Use professional networks like LinkedIn to share your achievements and connect with peers.
• Reach out to science journalists or bloggers who may be interested in covering your work.

• Advertise your research publications through social media. Provide a link to the open access version in Research Profiles and Repository
• Talk about your work through publishing at The Conversation
• Present your work at conferences
• Blog about your research

Similarly to promotion at the time of publication, there are various ways you can influence the dissemination and reach of your research by promoting your work post-publication. To share your research on any emerging collaborative platforms, you must know your rights and responsibilities within these environments.

Media outreach

Write press releases or summaries of your research for media outlets. This can lead to coverage in mainstream media, increasing public awareness.

• Consider creating supplementary materials, datasets, or code repositories to enhance the reproducibility of your research.
• Engage with policymakers or industry professionals who might find your work relevant.
• Showcasing your research in publications like The Conversation can lead to greater engagement and impact beyond academia.

• WSU has a variety of channels you can use to promote your work, including Research Services Update for HDR students and staff or the Future Makers magazine.

• The Office of Marketing and Communications offers help and advice to WSU researchers on ways to promote your research in the media.

For more information about why promotion is important for researchers, read Get visible or vanish: 10 tips

Researcher profiles

Keep your profiles on platforms like Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and ORCID updated. This ensures accurate representation of your scholarly work.

Engage with citations

Respond to citations of your work. Engage in discussions around your research to foster collaboration and build a network.

Online courses or webinars

Consider creating online courses or webinars related to your research. This can position you as an expert in your field and attract a wider audience.

Seek collaborations

Actively seek collaborations with researchers interested in your area of expertise. Collaborative projects can lead to more impactful research.

Remember, the key is to proactively share your research at each stage, engage with your academic community, and leverage various channels to reach different audiences.