I have been a researcher in the field of healthy ageing for the past 17 years. I was fortunate to get an initial role as a Research Assistant with AAG Life Member, Professor Gill Lewin, who was working at Curtin University and Silverchain at the time. Completing my PhD in 2014, I have also had the privilege of working closely with another AAG Life Member, Professor Keith Hill, for the past 10 years. Looking back, the mentorship I received from both Gill and Keith has assisted me to understand the challenging world of being a successful research academic.
Things have changed a lot over the years. Where it was once all about how many grants we received and the number of publications pumped out each year, now it’s about translation and the impact our research has on society, beyond academia. At the start of 2024, I began to blog because I wanted to directly reach older people and the health professionals working with them. I now have over 250 subscribers receiving my posts each month, with over 2,700 views to date. The most surprising thing has been the diverse locations of my followers, from across Australia to Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, Hong Kong, the UK, USA, and everywhere in between. Spanning most of the world, my message is truly getting out there!
Of course, there is a lot of work setting up a website and writing a monthly blog. You need to think about things like:
- What is the purpose of writing a blog?
- Why am I doing this?
- Who is it for?
- How often will I post?
- What will I post?
- How do I keep building it and spreading the word?
- and, importantly, how will I measure my impact?
As you can see, regular blogging is not a flash in the pan venture. It has become part of my monthly workload. Most people won’t be interested in doing something like this, or simply don’t have the time or desire to prioritise it, and I completely get that. However, there is an alternative that can still help to build your impact, especially for early and mid-career researchers (ECRs and MCRs), and that’s the AAG500Blog.
Simply send an email to the team, who will talk you through what’s required and everything you need to know. AAG has a large membership, giving you automatic reach without needing to build up followers over time. You can even request stats on your post, such as the number of views and engagement, which may be useful to support grant or promotion applications. Best of all, you are disseminating your research while letting others get to know you and what your research is all about.
Why not make this year the year you take the plunge and write a piece for the AAG500Blog? I highly recommend adding it to your to-do list. While you’re at it, feel free to check out my blog at https://www.elissaburton.com/blog. And don’t forget to subscribe for free.