How to promote your publication

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Academic publication is only the beginning of research impact. Sustainable, authentic promotion builds genuine relationships and contributes to scholarly and wider public discourse rather than just increasing visibilty. This guide provides suggestions about how you can effectively promote various types of academic publications – books, journal articles, edited volumes and more – to engage with diverse audiences, generate readership and citations, and achieve real-world impact.

 

Define your communication objectives and audiences

• Ask yourself, what do I want this publication to achieve? Typical goals include raising awareness of the publication among academic audiences to boost engagement or citations, encouraging collaboration, influencing policy or reaching non-specialist audiences.
• Define your objectives as clearly as possible and make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
• Different publications may appeal to different groups, so segment your audience so you can tailor your content, tone, format and channel to each group
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Build a promotional toolkit

• One-sentence summary: Write a concise, plain language sentence summarising the publication's central message for promotional use.
• 150-word summary: Create a clear, plain language and accessible description of the publication’s main messages that can be understood by a broad audience.
• Short author biography: Write a concise summary of your research interests and experience.
• Consider creating a video abstract or short explainer video.
• Remember to include title, publisher, launch date and DOI/ISBN in all communications.
• Use tools like Kudos to simplify your content, share and track engagement.
• Consider creating visual materials with key messages, quotes or any key images, such as a book cover. Tools like Canva are useful for designing visuals.
• Create a promotion calendar that aligns with conference seasons and other key dates.
  
  

Collaborate with your publisher

• Work closely with your publisher where appropriate. Request the publisher’s promotional plan and offer suggestions. Ask for support where appropriate.
• Write a guest blog post for the publisher's website.
• Ask them to send out review copies if appropriate and suggest places you would like to see it reviewed.
• Ensure they share the DOI/ISBN on their social media platforms and tag you or your school or department on any posts.
• Arrange a book launch event, panel discussion or seminar to promote the publication within the University and externally.
• Suggest relevant conferences, events or media outlets for promotion.

 

Use digital and online academic platforms

Academic platforms

• Make sure that you have added your publication to CentAUR. If your publication has been published open access, the full content should be available via CentAUR.
• Update Google Scholar, ORCID, ResearchGate, Academia.edu and upload permitted versions (copyright depending).

Use social media

• Use LinkedIn, Bluesky or X to highlight key messages and link to the publication.
• Tag relevant funders, collaborators and University accounts (e.g., @UniRdg_Research, @uor-research.bsky.social‬).
• Use hashtags to connect with targeted audiences and discipline-specific debates.
• Create threads or short videos to break down complex ideas.

Share via University and Department channels

• Work with the Research Communications and Engagement team to share your publication through University websites, the Connecting Research blog, social media, the research newsletter or other suitable channels.
• Discuss with the team any angles for wider public interest, such as relevance to newsworthy themes.

Update your online presence

• Add the publication to your project website (if you have one), University profile, personal webpage and LinkedIn. Update ResearchFish or other funder reporting tools.
• Edit relevant Wikipedia entries to reference your publication.

Engage with bloggers and other digital communities

• Identify influential bloggers or influencers in your subject area. Using Altmetric Explorer could help with that. Contact the Research Publications Adviser in the Library for help.
• Share the link with relevant mailing lists, professional associations and special interest groups that you belong to.
• Podcast engagement
• Identify relevant academic and popular podcasts and pitch yourself as a guest expert
• Share podcast appearances across networks
  
  

Use personal and professional networks

• Email your contacts: Share the DOI/ISBN and link with colleagues, collaborators, researchers whose work you reference and others with an interest in your subject. Tools like Scopus, Web of Science, or SciVal can help identify interested researchers. Contact the Research Publications Adviser in the Library for support.
• Tailor outreach to specific people or groups who would benefit. Use clear, jargon-free language and explain why the work matters to them.
• Ask colleagues to review your work on appropriate sites such as journal review sections, blogs, Amazon, Goodreads.
• Where appropriate, submit your work/publication for inclusion in conference presentations, seminars or panel discussions.
• Where appropriate, submit your work/publication for awards, academic prizes or reading lists.
• Email signature: Add the publication title, DOI and a direct link to your email signature.
  
  

Target media and specialist outlets

• If there is an interesting angle or message from the publication that would resonate with a wider audience, consider pitching to write a feature article.
• Identify key messages or unique aspects of the publication that will appeal to broader audiences.
• Contact the Press Team to discuss the possibility of a press release and explore feature articles in outlets like The Guardian, Times Higher Education or on BBC Radio.
• Consider pitching to The Conversation referencing the publication.
• If you are a member of professional associations who publish a blog, consider submitting a pitch to write for them.
  
  

Measure engagement and impact

• Use Altmetric Explorer to track mentions on social media, blogs, Wikipedia and news outlets. Contact the Research Publications Adviser for support.
• Track citations using tools like ORCID, Scopus, Web of Science or Google Scholar to identify emerging collaborations and engagement.
• Review engagement metrics (web traffic, downloads, shares, views) through Google Analytics, CentAUR and Kudos to inform future promotion strategies.
• Record qualitative feedback such as book reviews, email and personal communication feedback, social media comments.
  
  

Keep promoting

• Promotion doesn’t end after publication – most academic outputs have long lives.
• Repost and refresh content around key dates (e.g., policy debates, anniversaries, related news).
• Reframe insights into new formats (e.g., slides, policy memos, blogs).
• Link back to your publication in future talks, interviews and articles.