Journal marketing

Elsevier is committed to offering the widest possible dissemination of published research, so journal content is accessible electronically via ScienceDirect, Scopus and Health Advance. Our marketing approach complements this strategy, aiming to increase the visibility, accessibility and readership for your journal's articles.

We use online, physical and print marketing channels to maintain a high level of visibility and awareness for your journal. Electronic marketing – using websites, search tools, alerts and email communications – is becoming increasingly important; it offers improved speed of production, better response times, improved customer interaction, clearly measurable results and greater flexibility.

Tools and tips

We know from editors’ feedback that many of you are keen to be involved in the marketing of your journal.

The Editor marketing toolkit highlights the areas where your experience and expertise can add value.

7 ways to raise the profile of your journal

Add your journal and its website URL to your email signature – encourage colleagues, students and associates to visit the journal website
Add your journal and its website URL to your business cards
Encourage people to sign up for ScienceDirect alerts – they will be reminded regularly of the research being published
Inform us of interesting or high profile articles you have accepted, so we can highlight them in our marketing
Share interesting research with a colleague by using the ‘Email Article’ link on ScienceDirect
Tell us about society or research websites that could list your journal – we’ll get in touch with them and try to establish reciprocal links
Tell us about the meetings you attend so we can help you distribute or display sample copies and promotional material

Online

Search engine marketing

Search engines such as Google play an important role in increasing the discoverability of content on our platforms. We optimize our website content to improve their position in the major search engine rankings, increasing the visibility of our sites and individual journals.

Web environments

ScienceDirect: Elsevier journals have their own homepage on ScienceDirect, with easy access to content and a free online sample issue
Elsevier.com: Journals have a dedicated homepage on Elsevier.com, which has over 5.5 million page views every month, providing information about the journal
Health Advance hosts more than 575 proprietary and society-owned journals in the medical, surgical, dental, nursing and health professions

Content alerting services

ScienceDirect Citation alert: notifies you by e-mail when an article you select is cited by new articles added to ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect Search alert: notifies you by e-mail when a stored search retrieves new results, with direct links to the new search results
ScienceDirect Volume/Issue alert: notifies you by e-mail when a new issue of a journal or a new volume of a book becomes available on ScienceDirect
ScienceDirect Personalization/Topic alerts: topic alerts are predefined searches on a specific topic
The ScienceDirect TOP25 quarterly alert lists the most downloaded journal articles, giving journals and authors increased visibility and prestige

Print

Printed promotional materials such as posters, flyers, fact sheets, business and postcards can raise the visibility of your journal at key conferences and other events.
Printed subject catalogues in which books and journals are promoted together display the range of available publishing options to potential authors.
Print advertising can be arranged (subject to approval) in relevant Elsevier journals; selectively, we may also advertise in non-Elsevier titles when this is the most effective marketing option available.

Exhibits and conferences

Elsevier has dedicated global exhibit teams, and we tailor our approach to each scientific meeting in a number of ways. Over the years, we have observed that conference participants are less and less inclined to take away promotional materials and journal sample copies from exhibition booths. In response to this, we have developed a more digital approach at exhibits where ever practical.

Over the last few years, social media has become part of everyday life for millions of people, for both their professional and personal lives. At Elsevier, we recognize how crucial social media is for today's researchers, and we have conducted research to make our channels as useful as possible for their members.

Meeting researchers’ needs

All of our surveys revealed that researchers prefer pages to be focused on a subject area rather than specific journals. They want the pages to include (in order of preference):

Articles of interest in the subject area
Conference news
Special issues
Media news and research debates in the subject area
Calls for papers and job opportunities

To meet their needs, we have established over 160 social media channels – across a vast range of subject areas – which we use to promote new research, call for submissions, and even gauge opinions on key questions, such as whether we should launch a new journal in a particular area. These sites give researchers an opportunity to interact with us directly, in a way that has never existed before.

Getting involved

Social media provides a fantastic opportunity for us to work together, providing researchers with what they want and need to know, building awareness of research and announcements, and attracting submissions for the journal. We encourage you, as an editor, to be involved in our social media channels for the benefits your participation brings you and the journal.

Setting up your first account may seem a daunting task, so Elsevier's Marketing Communications & Research Engagement department has developed a series of guides to help you reap the benefits. Designed for editors, they contain information on all the major social media channels and how they can support you in connecting with your research communities