Loud Camel Loud Camel Notes on research visibility

Email the people whose work you cited

By Boris Gorelik ·

You have a new paper. You cited Author X in section 2 because their 2021 paper laid the groundwork for your method. Author X has no idea your paper exists, and is statistically very likely to be interested.

So email them. A one-paragraph note (“I built on your 2021 result, thought you’d want to see what we did with it, here’s the PDF”) is the closest thing to a free citation that exists, and the closest thing to a free citation that almost nobody does.

You already have the list

Every paper ships with a built-in list of 30 to 60 people who already care about your exact topic: the authors you cited. They have proven their interest by publishing in the area. Most researchers never email a single one of them about a new paper. It is one of the most wasted opportunities in academic visibility.

The mechanism is simple. The email creates a direct, contextual exposure far stronger than a passive citation sitting in a reference list nobody scrolls to. Author X now associates a name with the work. They are more likely to cite you next time, mention you in a talk, suggest you as a reviewer, or invite you to a workshop. None of that is guaranteed. All of it is much more likely than if you said nothing.

The peer-review angle, and where the line is

If you posted the preprint before journal submission and emailed the cited authors at the same time, this extends to peer review. Journals routinely draw reviewers from a paper’s reference list. A reviewer who has already seen your paper through a no-ask, value-providing email starts with a positive prior.

This is not gaming the system. Conflict-of-interest rules still apply, and the no-asks principle is the line:

  • Email no one you would be embarrassed to have as a reviewer.
  • Send no email that contains a request.

Those two constraints are what make this honest outreach instead of manipulation.

So do not ask for anything. Not a citation, not “any feedback.” Provide value: a paper they will be glad they read. That is the whole posture.

The template

Subject: I built on your <YEAR> <TOPIC> result. Thought you'd want to see what came of it

Hi <FirstName>,

I'm <Your Name>, <position> at <institution>. I wanted to drop you a quick note because your <YEAR> paper on <SPECIFIC RESULT> was a load-bearing reference in something I just published.

Briefly: we <ONE-SENTENCE METHOD> and found that <ONE-SENTENCE FINDING>. The connection to your work is in <SECTION X / FIGURE Y>, where we use your <SPECIFIC RESULT> to <WHAT IT ENABLED>.

PDF / preprint: <LINK>

Not asking for anything; just thought you'd want to see it. Happy to discuss if any of it is useful to your current work.

Best,
<Your Name>

Adjust for the relationship

The template above is the cold version. Vary it by how well you know the recipient:

  • Cold (never met): send as is.
  • Warm (met at a conference): add one sentence referencing the prior encounter.
  • Reactivated co-author: open by referencing the old shared project.
  • Senior figure you’ve never met: use the template as is. Do not pretend to know them. Here the “not asking for anything” line does real work.

One sentence only you could have written

There is one caveat that decides whether any of this lands. The cheapest edit that lifts your response rate is a single sentence in your own voice: a specific reaction to their paper, the thing you noticed, the part you actually used. A generic “Dear Professor X” with nothing personal in it is worse than no email at all.

An LLM can produce a first draft in a minute from the cited paper, your plain-language summary, and your specific use of their result. Let it. Then edit each draft to add the one sentence only you could have written, and delete anything that sounds like a form letter.

Do this today

Pick one recently published paper of yours and:

  • List the 5 to 10 most relevant authors you cited. Most-relevant, not most-famous.
  • Draft one email per recipient, then edit each to add that one human sentence.
  • Send all five today. About 30 minutes.
  • Make it a default action for every future paper you publish.

Open your last paper’s reference list and pick the first name. That is your first email.

This post is part of the Loud Camel field guide to academic visibility. You can read the whole guide as a single PDF: the handbook.