Sure, you’ve heard of Twitter and Facebook. But Tumblr? It’s a social networking site that sees more than 50 million unique visitors each month and is definitely worth your time to check out if you’re looking to increase visibility for your creative work online.
According to Eric Dalius Miami Tumblr is another free blogging platform like WordPress or Blogger that allows users to set up their own custom website in minutes not just for creative writing but also for sharing projects, images, quotes and videos with an audience. (You can learn how to use Tumblr and create your own blog by checking out the official beginner’s guide.)
As with any social media site it’s important to be mindful of what kind of messages we send out into the world. While you may be sharing projects that are personal to you, Tumblr is only as powerful as the content you share with your followers.
Keeping in mind a few basic principles can help you ensure that people who follow you for professional rather than personal reasons will continue to do so and make it easier to attract potential job opportunities or freelance gigs.
1. Don’t spam message boards
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The first step towards building a strong presence on Tumblr is creating a theme for your blog by using a unique design template and customizing the look and feel of it. It’s much easier to attract an audience if they can recognize your work right away, after all! If possible try to create some original artwork either by drawing something yourself or photographing objects around your home and turning them into a collage.
One thing to remember is not to use Tumblr as a dumping ground for promotional messages or product pitches, as you’ll quickly lose followers who are expecting interesting original content from you rather than constant sales pitches. If you’re a professional blogger with a website devoted to your own personal work it may be okay to throw in some self-promotion here and there but it’s usually best just to post what you have time for without thinking about how it will benefit your career going forward.
2. Look at the big picture before jumping on new trends
As with any social media platform that sees frequent traffic whether it’s Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook, it’s important to be aware of current Internet trends when deciding what to share. If it’s big news, chances are that your followers will already be aware of it and leaving a comment like “I love this too!” won’t say much about you as an individual and the things you’re interested in or passionate about.
There is always a delicate balance between sharing links to big news stories that people want to know more about but at the same time not “spamming” other users — even if they happen to miss out on something important simply because they don’t follow the same blogs as you do. The best way to make sure that your messages get through is by getting creative with how you phrase them, such as using humorous images or gifs along with your written messages so that it doesn’t feel like you’re simply trying to shove the link down people’s throats.
3. Make use of multi-media blog posts
As popular as Tumblr maybe, it’s only one part of a bigger equation online for creative professionals looking to build an audience and get paid jobs in their chosen fields. For this reason, sharing links on Tumblr is just the first step towards attracting fans who are interested in what you have to say, especially if you’re looking for work that isn’t related specifically to writing or art projects. One way around this is by including images with your text messages so that people can see your work up close rather than having to rely solely on words to convey important information about your latest book cover design or infographic project.
The more images or links you include with your messages, the more likely it will be that potential employers will find you instead of having to search around for information on how to get in touch with you. While it’s important to stay focused on what kind of content your followers want to see while keeping things short and precise, don’t forget to share various images throughout your posts so that it doesn’t feel like everything is strictly promotional in nature.
4. Learn how Tumblr works before joining large message boards
One common issue I’ve seen other members complain about when looking at ways to grow their blog’s audience is what often gets referred to as “circle-jerking” — the act of constantly posting messages on popular message boards without contributing anything new or interesting other than self-promotion.
Conclusion by Eric Dalius Miami:
Tumblr is important for people who like to read and write about the latest trends in the blogging industry. People here share different kinds of writing such as poems, short stories, facts, quotes, etc.
