How to Create a Tumblr Blog – Tutorial for Artists

I’ve noticed a substantial number of artists using Tumblr for promoting art. Tumblr is a blogging and social media platform, and has nearly 140 million blogs with over 60 billion posts!

Tumblr has become a great place to network with other artists and promote art. Reblogging allows others to freely repost anything on Tumblr, and has allowed the growth of thousands of blogs devoted to featuring posts around a certain topic. The tagging system is especially powerful here, as it allows posts to appear on separate pages based on the tag. For example, the art tag can be found at this page: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/art

 

One of the best things about Tumblr is the ease of posting. A simple post does not have to be lengthy. It can consist of either a link, some text, photos, chat text, quotes, video or audio. So if you are stuck for time, Tumblr may be a good blog to have. For others who already have profiles and a blog elsewhere, it can function as a way to attract visitors to your main website.

Below, I give a walkthrough of signing up for Tumblr, setting up your account, and an explanation of the types of Tumblr blog posts.

You may also be interested in this post: Google+ for Artists

Tumblr for Artists – How to Create a Tumblr Blog

 

1. Register for Tumblr, entering an email, password and username. Enter your age, agree to the terms and click DONE.
   
   
2. Next, you will be asked to follow 3 blogs. Select a trending blog at the right. If you would like to follow artists at Tumblr, enter words like “artists” and  “art” in the search box. When you have 3, hit Next Step.
   
   
3. Now it is time to begin setting up your Tumblr blog.
   
   
   First, select a header theme by cycling through the arrows, To upload your own, hit the little camera icon.
   
   Upload an avatar, which can be a logo, picture of yourself, or an image of an artwork. Keep in mind that the avatar will appear throughout Tumblr alongside any posts you make. Enter a title and description, then hit Make it!
   
   Don’t worry if its not perfect now… these settings can be changed anytime.
   
   
   
4. Next, you will get a chance to tell Tumblr which mobile devices you use, so they can email you a mobile app invite. Click “I’ll get it later” if this isn’t applicable to you.
   
   

5. Tumblr Dashboard

   
   
   
   You are presented with the Tumblr dashboard, where new posts can be made and settings adjusted. I will go through each of the sections separately.
   

6. Text Posts

   
   
   
   This is the option you would choose for regular posts. Here, you can enter a title, the body of your post and tags. The post editor has various options for formatting text, inserting links, uploading images and using HTML code.
   
   Hit the little cog wheel icon in the corner to reveal various post settings. Use a custom URL, content source or set the post date here (all optional). Check the box next to “Let people photo reply” if you want others to reply to posts using images.
   
   When you are ready to publish, hit the down arrow next to publish to reveal several options. Publish now is the default setting when clicking the blue button. Other options include add to queue, publish on, save as draft and private.
   
   

7. Photo Posts

   
   If images are all that you will be posting, choose this option. Select up to 10 photos from your computer and upload them.
   
   Notice that you can include a link at the bottom, and also snap photographs using your webcam.
   
   

8. Quote Posts

   
   Quotes are very popular on Tumblr, and Tumblr makes it very easy to share them. Select the quote icon, and enter a quote.
   
   Place the source at the bottom of the quote, and also include tags.
   
   

9. Link Posts

   
   If all you would like to do is post a link, do this by selecting the Link button.
   
   Enter the URL, title, caption and tags.
   
   

10. Chat Posts

    
    This is not used for actual chatting. This is a place for entering conversations between you and a friend. Enter the title, the text of the chat and tags.
    
    Some Tumblr users are known for creative and funny chats.
    
    

11. Audio Posts

    
    This is the place for sharing music and sound tracks.
    
    There are 3 options:
    
    Search – Type a track name, and select from the available options.
    Upload – Upload a MP3 file from your computer, no more than 10 MB.
    External URL – Enter another website which includes the music track.
    
    

12. Video Posts

    
    You have two options for creating video posts on Tumblr. Enter a URL or video code in the top box, or upload a video in the bottom box.
    
    Notice that Tumblr users are limited to 5 minutes of video uploads per day, and no more than 100 MB per video file.

 

If you have a Tumblr blog, you are welcome to post it below. Please also let us know your favorite thing about Tumblr, and how you have been using Tumblr for promoting art.

Also take a look at this post: Pinterest for Artists