Purpose: Introduce the paper submission pathway with suggested donation. Sent only to authors who engaged with the first email (replied, visited their source page, or submitted corrections).
When to send: 2–3 weeks after first-touch, only if the author engaged.
Subject line options:
- Quick update from WikiBiome — and a way to contribute
- WikiBiome is growing — here's how to get your work included
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TEMPLATE:
Subject: WikiBiome is growing — here's how to get your work included
Dear Dr. [LAST NAME],
Thank you for [engaging with / reviewing / correcting] your source page on WikiBiome. [If corrections were made: "Your corrections have been applied — accuracy is everything to us."]
Since we last wrote, WikiBiome has grown to [X] source pages covering [Y] conditions. Your work on [TOPIC] continues to inform our coverage of [CONDITION/ENTITY].
I wanted to let you know about two ways researchers are contributing to WikiBiome:
Submit papers for ingestion. If you have published or forthcoming work related to microbiome ecology, metal biology, or disease pathogenesis, you can submit it for review at wikibiome.com/submit. We ingest every paper on its scientific merits — there is no fee or obligation.
Support the platform. WikiBiome is free, ad-free, and open access. We're funded entirely by the research community. If your work benefits from the visibility and cross-referencing WikiBiome provides, suggested donation: $100 — gifts of any size welcome. You can contribute at wikibiome.com/support.
To be clear: submissions are always free. Donations and editorial decisions are completely separate processes. We will never guarantee citation in exchange for financial support.
We're building the resource we wished existed — and the researchers behind the evidence are the ones making it possible.
Best, Karen Pendergrass Founder, WikiBiome & The Paleo Foundation karen@paleofoundation.com
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Notes:
- Only send to authors who engaged with the first email. Never cold-ask for money.
- The separation between submission and donation must be explicit in every communication.
- For authors at institutions with research outreach budgets, consider: "Many researchers use departmental outreach or open-access funds to support platforms like WikiBiome."
- Track outreach status in source page frontmatter: `keystone_outreach_status: sent | responded | corrections-applied | declined`