3 Essential Steps to Share Research With Popular Audiences

Alot of great research receives less attention than it deserves because of poor communication. Strong insights are not enough to break through today’s downpour of online information. At the same time, moving beyond academic journals promises audiences of hundreds of thousands or even millions of readers.

Academics are used to synthesizing existing research, testing out a new approach and making a compelling, evidence-based argument. Popular writing requires much of the same thinking—survey current commentary, find a new angle and stake out a position—even as it demands stylistic adaptation, such as making language accessible to nonexperts (though research suggests simpler language also contributes to the success of academic journal articles).

Over the past five years, the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and Footnote have partnered to communicate research to broader audiences. While no template exists for the perfect mainstream article, we’ve identified three essential steps that lead to success.