So bloggers, what are you thinking now? Planning to start a Tumblr blog? I have a very useful resource for you to get a starting point: 'I Love Tumblr'. It is one of the most useful platforms for learning everything about Tumblr in the simplest manner. It is a one-stop station to get tips about running a successful Tumblr blog.
I love Tumblr in his own words: "Tumblr Tips For Bloggers Who Love Tumblr".
We have Gregory Ciotti, the author of this great blog, with us to share his insight about Tumblr as a publishing platform an his experience with Tumblr so far:
Gregory, let's start with a brief introduction of you.
Hello! I'm Greg and I'm currently a recent graduate and aspiring entrepreneur. I operate a small offline business (landscaping) and also recently established a Delaware SEO (that's where I'm from) operation that provides SEO & WordPress web design for local businesses (although so far I have only worked with dentists, apparently dentists like having decent websites!)
I also build blogs as well, which all started because I loved to write, but I've always been a bigger fan of "factual" types of books, and books on philosophy, so blogging about specific topics (rather than personal blogging) definitely had a huge appeal to me.
My recent projects are 3 blogs that I'm working on, I Love Tumblr is the most recent, as well as my electronic music blog called Sophistefunk, and a marketing blog where I discuss my SEO & marketing work called Sparring Mind.
Essentially Sparring Mind is where I discuss strategies that I currently do or will try, and the other two blogs are recent endeavors where I put them into practice.
Firstly, tell us about your wonderful blog 'I Love Tumblr'. What is it all about?
I Love Tumblr is a blog all about using Tumblr successfully, and occasionally about relevant and interesting Tumblr news (usually focusing on where Tumblr is headed, and business aspects). There are so many "blogging about blogging" blogs, and I was hesitant to start another, but I felt like there were so many questions that Tumblr users had that weren't getting answers.
I also noticed that many of these were coming from prominent Tumblr users, people who had built up thousands of followers and now wanted to know things like monetization, setting up email lists, and all of that good stuff that most of us WordPress users already were experienced in.
I also found that there wasn't a good resource for problem solving and tutorials on Tumblr. It is very hard to find information on simple things that quality Tumblr users need, like setting up feeds and comments, so I wanted to assist in that, as a Tumblr user myself.
When and how did it form? We would love to know about your blog's inception.
As described above, the blog came about because I sensed a need for it, and considering it's traffic and retention rate for subscribers (and a very low bounce rate) I'd have to say it was a pretty lucky guess/hunch, as there is definitely a segment of Tumblr users looking to take things to the next level, and who actually have a handle of what it takes to be a good blogger.
I've found other "About Tumblr" type sites, but they always focus on the, excuse my honesty, crappy Tumblr user, I won't go into detail because I don't want to offend anyone, but they pretty much post terribly written articles about nothing, and these other blogs cater to them.
So I built this site for the "real" Tumblr blogger, the guy/gal looking to post awesome content and build a loyal following and a successful blog.
I also think that I Love Tumblr is useful for people looking to add to their brand's main blog with a tumblog, and I feel like many of my posts address how to use Tumblr successfully even for the person who is looking to augment their brand's presence online with a Tumblr blog, and is not exactly focused on starting a blog exclusively on the Tumblr platform.
Lastly, I just like to build blogs that I think help people. I know how frustrating search can be these days with spam blogs and blogs that rank for terms and don' answer questions, so I wanted to build a site for Tumblr where if you searched on how to do something, and article explaining it properly would be out there. I hope that I've done that and I hope to continue doing it.
Tumblr has been growing and improving now. What do you think makes Tumblr different from other publishing platforms?
The obvious is the simplicity and differentiation of post types, but I think the main "draw" of Tumblr for most people is the quasi-social networking aspects.
I won't lie, this is mostly due to the fact that it is fairly easy to build a following on Tumblr, if you know how to put up posts that are prime to get reblogged, and especially if you know how to effectively use Tumblr search.
People like connecting with others and sharing things, I mean, that's how a "un-personal" platform such as Twitter is able to succeed in spite of Facebook existing.
Blogging to some people is hard to do because they don't have an audience at first, and they get impatient. This is totally understandable, and again, it's why social networking sites have a higher use rate than blogs, and why there are so many abandoned blogs: people won't put forth the effort of posting if nobody is visiting.
Tumblr therefore has a higher retention rate for it's users to sign-up ratio because of the fact that people can find an audience more easily on Tumblr.
If you started a Blogger blog, you have to find traffic. If you post on Tumblr, and your post gets found via an internal Tumblr search of tags, and it gets reblogged, you can have an audience from day one. And people like that.
What are your favorite features in Tumblr?
I would say the dashboard is one of the most intuitive I've seen in a while.
I also use WordPress, and it took me (as most others) a little while to get a hang of it, but that is of course due to the larger number of options available.
I think the Tumblr dashboard is perfect for people just getting into blogging or who just want to keep it simple, and I have to say the development team did a great job with it.
I also love Tumblr's themes.
There are a lot of photo focused ones, but some of the premium themes blow WordPress themes out of the water, I especially like the themes by PixelUnion, those guys know how to design.
Lastly, I do enjoy the social networking aspects of Tumblr. Reblogging content I'm kind of neutral on, but the ability to follow blogs at the click of a button and log in to see a stream of their posts is pretty awesome.
Is there any feature of Tumblr that puts you off? (come on, you can share it) ;)
Believe me, for a guy that truly enjoys using Tumblr, I have a few complaints.
First is my own personal issue is that I would rather have the Tumblr platform be open-source and able to be self-hosted. What I wouldn't give to see the Tumblr dashboard on my own hosted site... but alas.
The second, and probably my biggest annoyance, is that Tumblr is pretty terrible at SEO.
I've mentioned in my Tumblr vs. WordPress post that unfortunately I cannot advocate the use of Tumblr on blogs that will rely on a lot of search engine traffic.
Tumblr blogs can still be hugely successful, don't get me wrong, but the fact that you aren't in total control with self-hosting and the fact that SEO for the platform is so lacking, means you are going to have to find more creative ways of using Tumblr to get reblogs & exposure to your site, and find a means of monetizing that fits in with Tumblr's policies.
Let's have a rapid fire:
One blogging tool you can't do without?
I don't know if I'd specifically call this a blogging tool, but the program ZenWriter helps me turn off the internet and turn off distractions to get posts written in a timely manner.
5 things you can't live without?
1. Family & friends
2. Internet access
3. Books
4. The gym
5. Good food!
Tea or coffee?
Tea, I drink two cups a day.
One line that keeps you going?
"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task." -William James
It's quite true, letting things go weighs more on your mind than just sitting there and doing them. This quote is what I think about when I start to put things aside.
Your favorite blog(s)?
I read a lot of news blogs, so all of those would be up there.
I like to stay sharp with my blogging techniques (or at least I try, ha!), so I read a few "blogging about blogging" blogs, but only the good ones, notably the KISSmetrics blog and ViperChill.
I also read tons of other blogs, and by read I mean I add them to Google Reader and try my best to get a post in now in then. They mostly fall in line with my hobbies, notably fitness, gaming, tech, and social media.
I know you didn't ask this, but I have a few blogs that I hate, notably ICanHasCheezburger and anything to do with celebrities.
One word/phrase/line you often use?
Hmm... if you mean a quote that I live by, I think it would be this: "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality that guarantees all others." I hope I'm quoting that correctly, it was stated by Winston Churchill.
This quote is important to me because it is one of the truest things I've ever heard; good intentions cannot become good deeds without the courage to do so.
What are you dreams/vision for 'I Love Tumblr'?
Honestly I'd like just keep putting out quality posts for Tumblr users.
I thought maybe one day it might be useful to develop a theme with a theme designer, and have it cater towards the Tumblr user who likes to write (aka the guy that actually uses text posts).
There are so many themes made for photos on Tumblr that I think a premium theme for writers on Tumblr might be in demand, and the blog would be a great place to promote it.
Also I think Tumblr users will start demanding themes that do better with getting subscribers, like themes with pre-built opt-in boxes and such, and I'd like to make one for them.
Share your fondest memory with 'I Love Tumblr'.
Fondest memory... tough really say one since the blog is so young. Probably my first 1,000 unique visitors in a day... day, which happened about 2 weeks ago after a bigger blog linked to one of my posts.
Many other bloggers and our readers would draw inspiration from you. What message do you have for them?
Be a good person, treat business as serious as it is, but don't forget to have fun.
Now that we are through with my life advice (haha), if you are asking about blogging, I would say that choosing a viable topic is the most important part.
After that, being different is the second most important part; if there are other sites already really similar to yours, why should people come to it? Standing out is key.
After that, writing posts that rock is key. Don't just be another blog that cranks out a 500 word post about something people already know about every week.
Sit back for two weeks and write a 1000+ word post covering a topic extensively, and before you hit publish, ask yourself if this is something that you would want to read.
Gregory, thank you for this extensive conversation with us. Your interview is one of the greatest resources we have on our blog for learning about 'Tumblr'. We have started loving Tumblr even more now. All the best!
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