You think your recent research findings are pretty sweet and want more people to know about it. What's a researcher to do? There are a few steps you can take to make it more likely that your paper will reach a wide audience, writes the University of Hull's Mark Lorch at Nature Jobs.
First off, Lorch says a clearly written paper is key. He says to include straightaway why the paper is important, keep the paper free of technical vocabulary, and to end with a well-defined takeaway message.
But to attract eyes to the paper, he suggests writing a short summary of the paper that's aimed at laypeople that you can post online, such as to your, your lab's, or your department's blog. In addition, you can alert your institution's press office to your paper and discuss your work on social media. You could also, he notes, skip those steps and write about your work yourself for a site like the Conversation, where editors help scientists shape articles for wider consumption, Lorch says.
"Try these tips and your dream breakthrough could be something that everyone is talking about," he adds.