Source: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalgateway/promoteJournal.htm

Promote Your Journal   

Ideas for promoting your journal

Have you ever wanted to help promote and market your
journal, but haven’t known where to start? These helpful tips will
steer you in the right direction...






Increasing usage and citations



SAGE is committed to promoting and increasing the
visibility of your journal and would like to work with you to promote
your journal to potential readers. We are actively engaged with several
social media initiatives and see this as a key way for people to engage
with your newly published work. As user expectations change, it is
important that your journal is visible where the user starts their
search. Below are some of the resources we think are key for promoting
your journal and other channels that will offer a direct way to reach
the widest and most appropriate audience.






Add multimedia content



Content
is, of course, no longer simply text and figures. It also includes
user-generated content and multi-media content such as podcasts and
videos. We are seeing an increasing amount of traffic to our journal
sites via YouTube as students use video as an initial way of
researching a topic. If you already have video content relating to your
journal, please let us know and we will add it to our SAGE YouTube
channel. If you are interested in exploring multimedia content for your
journal please speak to your SAGE Editor or read our guidelines on podcasting and producing video content.






Start blogging




Linking
your journal to blogs is an excellent way of enhancing
discoverability. Search engines such as Google rate blogs highly when
determining page rankings so the more you write, the higher your page
will appear in search engine results pages. This is especially
important as researchers are increasingly using Google Scholar to find
content.


There are various ways you can get involved in blogging:

• Start a blog dedicated to your journal to
  provide an interactive forum for discussing articles, features and
  developments. This could be a great way of encouraging the wider
  community to engage with what the journal is publishing. Read our guidelines on blogging here. SAGE can provide a blogging template – please contact us if you would like further information.
  
  
  
  
• Create your own personal blog. Wondering what to write about? What about:
  
  
  
  
• Developments in your area of research?

• Papers that you have published – and/or other related papers in your field of research?
• Conferences and training events that you’re due to speak at?
• Any interesting questions that came up at the last conference you attended?
• What you think of any recent press coverage of your subject area?
• Identify any bloggers in your field and participate in discussions by posting comments – don’t forget to link to your journal!
  
  
  
  

Contribute to Wikipedia



We recognize that many students are increasingly
using Wikipedia as the starting point for their research. If there
are pages that relate to themes, subjects or research that your
journal covers, add your journal as a reference, with a link to it on
SAGE Journals Online. If your journal already has a page, use these
guidelines to help you with editing it: Wikipedia_Editing_Guidelines PDF. If there isn’t a page in existence, why not create one? You can find out how here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Your_first_ article.




Join Twitter



Twitter
is a micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read
messages known as tweets. Editors are increasingly promoting their
content via Twitter which is then picked up by other researchers and
practitioners depending on their search parameters. Senders can
restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default,
allow public access. Twitter allows you to set up search terms to
enable you to monitor what is being talked about in your areas of
publication. You can then comment on the relevant conversations. The
more you engage, the more people will follow you to listen to your
comments and recommendations. As followers come to you, rather than you
approaching them, Twitter is an ideal way to reach new audiences. SAGE
has produced a set of guidelines for how to use Twitter.






Join academic social networking sites






Academics, researchers and practitioners are increasingly using
social communities as a way of meeting and conversing with people who
share thesame research interests. These sites offer an immediate
way to monitor what other people are looking at in your field of
research or as a way to commission papers around online conversations
you think are interesting. If there aren’t any groups talking about
your research interests – setone up. Take a look at MyNetResearch http://www.mynetresearch.com and Academici http://www.academici.com for examples.






Engage with LinkedIn



LinkedIn
is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around
the world with over 55 million members. It is not just for career
opportunities. When you create your profile that summarizes your
professional expertise and accomplishments, why not including mention
of your journal and connect with authors who you would like to publish.







Journal prizes



Why not consider introducing a best paper prize
or other award in order to promote your journal to potential authors
and raise your profile? The prize could be awarded to the most highly
cited paper, the best paper by an early career academic or postgraduate,
or simply the paper that best advances the aims and scope of the
journal. The winning paper could then be promoted via the journal’s
website. Ask your SAGE Editor for advice.








Join Facebook


Why not consider setting up a Facebook page? You can create groups according to your interests of areas of your expertise. Guidelines on how to set up and maintain a Facebook page can be found here; please contact us if you would like any further information.








Join Methodspace


Sponsored by SAGE, Methodspace is
a new online community dedicated to research methods. On the site, you
can connect with other researchers,discover and review new resources
and approach authors who you would like to publish in your journal.
Stay up to date with this and other SAGE initiatives by visiting our
press page http://www.uk.sagepub.com/aboutus/press.htm.








SAGE Article Press Release Scheme



A SAGE Article Press Release scheme is available on a case by case evaluation basis to raise the visibility of particular articles,
and highlight new and important research. We are interested in hearing
from you about any papers coming up for publication in your journal
that may be of interest to the media. If accepted into the scheme, SAGE
will assign expert press release writers with experience and knowledge
of what catches the media’s attention to create items for
dissemination to the media.


A press-worthy paper should:

• Present new research, or add new information to previous research
• Appeal to a general as well as a specialist audience
• Have a message that can be explained in lay terms
• Reflect well on the research field, and the journal

It is important that you share with us information on newsworthy papers as early as possible, ideally at acceptance or as soon as you are aware an important paper is coming through.





SAGE Insight


SAGE Insight is a blog that puts the spotlight
on research published in our 600+ journals. All the articles we link to
from this site are free to read for a limited period. Both
new and from our archives, the articles on SAGE Insight provide a
fresh perspective on major issues facing the public and policy makers.
We cover everything from crime to medical practices, from psychology to
education. Journal editors and authors can suggest articles for
inclusion. For more information, visit: http://sagepub.com/sageinsight.



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