For the past few years, I kept hearing that Tumblr is dead. People are saying that nobody uses this site anymore, and it's a waste of time. If you're unfamiliar with Tumblr, it's the site where hipsters used to hang out.
Basically, Tumblr is a combination of a social network and a microblogging platform. I would describe it as a mix between a Wordpress site, Instagram, and Twitter. You create a blog, use a custom theme and post whatever content you like.
Let me tell you something...TUMBLR IS NOT DEAD.
Millions of people still use Tumblr to microblog, share content and have fun.
Here's a fun snippet from Statista.com:
Total global visitor traffic to Tumblr.com 2021. As of January 2021, social network Tumblr had 327 million unique visitors worldwide from 2020.
That means if you have a well-defined niche, you can target lots of people who are interested in the same things you are. Don't underestimate this unique traffic source - most people do!
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. The Recluse Hub is part of the Amazon Associates program and I earn a commission on qualifying purchases.
I started blogging on Tumblr 10 years ago when everybody was there posting photos and stories. It's the type of platform where you can post almost any kind of content. Users can like and reblog your content.
I have a photo travel blog called Extremely Wonderful Places.
When I stopped using Tumblr, I had about 90k followers. Yep, that's quite a lot, but you don't make money on Tumblr, at least not directly. I've never made a penny from Tumblr. I posted travel photos of my own and mostly reblogged other people's gorgeous images for fun; I wasn't using the platform to get many followers or to make money.
Now I recently got back on Tumblr, and guess what?
I have 141,000 followers. And many of them are active. That means they like and reblog my posts. So, why am I sharing this?
Well, I want to inspire you to start using Tumblr to drive traffic to your blog or social media accounts. It's a fun and easy way to get more views and clicks but it is so OVERLOOKED!
So, what can you post on Tumblr?
Pretty much anything. You can add text stories and share something with the community, or you can do what I do and add photos. If your photos are interesting, people will click through the link to your website, blog, social media, whatever!
Then, you can use the "link" feature to share a link to your blog post. And if you want to share a video tutorial, why not upload your video?
You can even add affiliate content to Tumblr by linking to your affiliate pages.
Let me show you how it works.
When you add a photo, for example, you can add a link back to the source or your blog/social media. Then if people click through, you get free traffic!
Now, let me show you where to add the source or link:
If you click add a photo, this is the page that pops us. Add upload images to upload your photo, pin image, or quote photo.
Now it's time to add the source and link back to your blog or social media and add relevant tags.
It's so simple and easy.
The best Tumblr feature
My favorite Tumblr feature is that you can queue posts for later. You can select the date and time you want and Tumblr will post the content for you. It's like the Tailwind auto-scheduler, but it's free and it saves you a lot of time. I personally like to queue about 5 posts and Tumblr posts them throughout the day.
Best type of content to post on Tumblr
Tumblr is very different from Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest. In a way, Tumblr is more personal. You can share multimedia content and appeal to a very specific niche. For example, there are users who are there for "dark academia aesthetics" or millennials using Tumblr to reblog plants and garden content. There are fandoms, travel geeks, and all kinds of people who just want to find inspirational content.
But, people overlook the marketing potential of this site.
Tumblr users value creativity, uniqueness, and sometimes mindless but fun content. You'll find memes, gifs, fashion inspo, political content, and more. If you search the platform you'll notice that it's extremely varied.
Click on the explore tab and you'll see all kinds of content. You can narrow it down to the content that you're interested in. It's kind of similar to Pinterest.
The most popular type of posts on Tumblr are photo posts. That's not surprising since visual content always does well. When I post a story or link I get far less like and reblogs than when I share a photo. A photo post gets immediate reactions.
Here's an idea if you want to get clicks to your blog post. Create an image in Canva with a quote or snippet from your blog post. Then post it to Tumblr.
5 Tips to get noticed on Tumblr
I want to end this post by sharing my 4 top tips for getting noticed on Tumblr.
Share interesting content. Try to go for photos, graphics, quotes, or links to interesting articles with some click-bait titles. You need to capture the reader's attention.
Add tags to each post. You can just start typing a word and Tumblr auto-suggests tags for you.
Look on the EXPLORE page and see what's trending and what similar blogs are posting.
Post during "active times". This takes a while to figure out. Tumblr users are spread out all over the world so you need to post according to specific timezones depending on your target audience.
Use a simple, minimal theme that makes it easy for people to see the like and reblog buttons. If you're posting mostly photos, a grid theme is best.
Takeaway
If you're up for a small challenge, give Tumblr a try. Even if you already have a Tumblr blog, make sure to use the 5 tips to grow it and make yourself "Tumblr famous". I know, it's a silly term but I think you know what I mean. The more people see your blog, the more traffic you can get to your social media and other blogs.
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