Tumblr is a hybrid of a blogging platform and social media. It can be used to reach out to new audience members nut it can also be used in ways that no was probably not the intention of anyone who created it. These are some of the more creative uses of Tumblr.

But first, how to use Tumblr the right way

The right way to use Tumblr is a combination of interacting with people and creating content other people are interested in interacting with. You can do this in fits and starts by allowing the Tumblr queue to post your content at a steady rate.

As long as you select three to six relevant tags per post, people will slowly start to discover your Tumblr blog. If your content is well tagged and interesting, it will be spread by reblogs (shares).

You can follow users that you find interesting. This will fill your dashboard with content that you will enjoy. If you are short for something to share, share (reblog) something someone else made that you think your followers will find interesting. Maybe add an interesting addition to the end of it.

Let out your nerdy side

One of the most common used of tumble is to let your nerdy side run free. Most tumblr users cluster arround what they call “fandoms” – sometimes these are broken down into “ships” (where the fan base really wants a particular couple to get together).

Tumblr is the place where you let your geeky passions free. Not only are you unlikely to be judged, but you are also very likely to find accepting peers who love what you love at least as much as you do.

Engaging followers with other people’s content

One way to get a new Tumblr account up and running is to go and find other people’s content and share it. There is, of course a right and a wrong way to do this.

The wrong way is to plagiarise other people’s work – that is frowned upon and possibly illegal. You will offend more people than you please doing this. Avoid plagiarism at all costs.

However, Tumblr has a post format called “link” which will build a visually pleasing post to share a link to something interesting. For sites like Flickr and Pinterest, this consists pretty much of the picture you want to share anyway. A good selection of excellent links will quite possibly earn you your first followers.

If you have a Pinterest account, sharing links to pins promotes your pins while also using them to gain traction on Tumblr.

Using the Tumblr queue to run your Twitter

One of the things that you can do with a Tumblr account is to link it to a Twitter account. On a per post basis, you can have a tweet go out to your Twitter account. By default, this includes the link to the post. That alone can mean a well-paced stream of output for your Twitter account.

There is nothing forcing you to keep the link. Thus Tumblr has been used as a way to post tweets at the same time as posting to Tumblr. If you have interesting content to share, you might want to leave the link in so your Twitter followers can see it. But you do not have to.

A variant approach is to go back through your blog (say, on WordPress) find all your evergreen (or still relevant) content and add a lot of link posts to your queue. Then, let Tumblr post a steady stream of your links to your Twitter.

Using Tumblr for SEO

SEO is a more advanced creative use of Tumblr. Techniques include crafting the tumblr blog theme, adding links to your website to the menu, and other on page optimisations.

Tags as SEO

A more advanced technique is to select three to seven tags. These are your topic areas, and will you use one per post. Then you go to the theme editor. On the theme editor, you can add custom pages. These pages can also be links. By linking to your main tags, you create more archive pages for Google to index.

There are other uses for those tags that people have found. We’ll get to those in due time.

Creating content with embedded links

I’m not even certain if this SEO technique works. However, this is how the theory goes. First you create high quality shareable content. You add one or two relevant links (to your own site) to the text.

As the content is shared, reblogged, and shared some more, there are all those additional organic links being created for you.

I am going to say this twice because I think it is important – I have no idea if this helps, if it does anything, or if it makes things worse. I suspect that if the link is highly relevant, people might click it and take a look (which is no bad thing).

Tumblr on-page SEO

When you create a Tumblr account (or shared blog), you can assign it a theme. However, if you are into SEO or web design, you can go ahead and customise your theme.

This allows you to complete a lot of different types of “on-page SEO“. There are too many options to go into here, but a quick Google will show you more results than you can read in a week.

Using Tumblr to find new readers

Some bloggers are more active with their Tumblr account. Others simply automatically share their blog post when they publish. WordPress has ways to announce a new post to your social media accounts. Author Buzz supplies you with Jetpack which takes care of this for you.

Sharing your blog posts to Tumblr can be a great way to reach new readers. You most definitely will need a catchy headline that will appeal to the kind of readers you wish to reach. A strong opening paragraph is extremely helpful too.

Auto sharing is not the only way to use Tumblr. Fresh content crafted expressly for Tumblr is many orders of magnitude more effective. Combine the images and general narrative of your post into a custom Tumblr post; then end with a “read more” linked to your post.

Keeping it real

If all your posts are pushing your blog – or worse, your book – you will turn people off pretty quickly. Don’t forget to mix in reblogs of other users’ best content; image and lists posts written just for your Tumblr followers; and remember to be sociable occasionally by interacting with your followers.

Book reviews, short stories, and writing advice all have massive and engaging communities. As an author, you should have no trouble finding something to contribute to the community. These communities tend to build up around specific tags, so figure out which and make sure you use those tags appropriately.

The Internet perennials of cute animal pictures and amusing jokes are as popular on Tumblr as they are everywhere else. If you own a pet, regular pictures of them are an easy source of popular content – as are amusing stories about your pets.

Reusing old content

On Tumblr there is nothing stopping you reblogging your own content. One way that people bulk out their queue is to reblog their best stuff witht he tag “throwback”. This is ideal when you are busy, off on holiday, or just going through a dry patch.

Your self-reblogs will be unlikely to reach anyone other than your existing followers (unless they reblog it too). That is why you should shuffle them in with original content. You can edit your queue order from the control panel.

Test out new post ideas

Tumblr audiences tend to be extremely forgiving. They tend to ignore stuff that bores them but engage passionately with things that they love. This makes them a perfect test audience for new post ideas.

If you have an active following, they can help you flesh out your next niche top 10 list. Post what you have so far and end with one or more open ended questions. Let your followers inspire you with their own ideas. They will often shed light on considerations you may have overlooked.

Test out book cover designs

On many social media platforms, fans and followers tend to show disinterest in your book creation process. Not so much on Tumblr.

Tumblr has a highly networked community of creative people. If you are trying to figure out which book cover works best, your Tumblr fans will happily give you their option.

Even if you know which design you intend to use, sharing this process with Tumblr will help prime your audience for the news that your book is now out. Everyone who “helped you choose your cover” will feel a degree of ownership over it. That can translate directly into sales.

Get help with plot ideas

If you ever grind to a halt after an attack of writer’s block, Tumblr can help you get going again. Tumblr users love to talk about plot ideas.

I have seen the most amazing short stories develop from nothing more than a joke or a prompt. Although there is no one author, each member of the community expands and improves the idea creating a shared story. Some of them are a pure joy to read.

If you need somewhere to ask for new plot ideas, Tumblr might be just the place.

What interesting ways have you (ab)used Tumblr?

• Do you know of other ways people have used Tumblr?
• How do you use Tumblr?
• Is Tumblr good for authors?

Let us know your opinions in the comments.