A Social Media Challenge – Set Up A Tumblr Blog
This blog takes a lot of time to write. About 10 hours a week each for myself and Lauren, not the sort of time that most people could commit to easily. There is another alternative though for anybody out there who either blogs already or wants to get started in blogging, A Tumblr blog. I set one up a couple of weeks ago on a whim and it took me less than 3 minutes to get cracking and it really does have to be one of the easiest most fun projects I have undertaken in quite a while. The beauty of it is that it is really simple straight forward instant publishing with my food pictures taking me an average of about 30 seconds to snap and write a short description of and I never have to even go near the computer to create posts with all the hard work done from my iPhone. So I wanted to set everybody who reads this blog a little challenge of setting up your own little Tumblr blog and here are some of the reasons why you should and how it is done…
Why Would I Want Another/A New Blog?
Storing Your Content
The main reason I started my photo food blog was because I was constantly posting photos of what I cooked but due to the nature of Twitter they would be lost forever a couple of weeks after posting them. I wanted to give them a home. Now I can scroll back myself over the last couple of weeks of what I have eaten and it often brings a smile back to my face as I remember specific meals or people I ate them with. Just imagine that in a couple of years time when I can scroll back over my photos.
Idiot Proof
Blogging is getting easier and there are now some great publishing solutions out there that allow you to have very limited technical knowledge and be up and running but getting your own domain name and adding plugins is not as easy as we all think and having a simple Tumblr blog is easily the best way to be up and publishing in a couple of minutes.
Meaningful Content
If you spend a lot of time on Twitter you are creating content that probably doesn’t have any real long term value which is fine as not everybody wants to create long term value but if you do have a little spare time why not create something that is meaningful and lasting. Something that you could share with your family, or your friends or something that the whole world can see. Each individual post might not seem amazing but created as a daily event they can start to have value.
How Do I start My Tumblr Blog
Picking A Subject
You need to find something that you do every single day of the week and are passionate about. Do you love dogs? Like taking pictures of buses? Love drinking cocktails? Like shopping? Passionate about Football? For this to work and seem like a bit of fun rather than something that is going to turn in to a chore it needs to be something that you are passionate about and enjoy doing.
Which Content Delivery Method To Use?
I am going to rule out text for this one (although you can of course do what you want) as it just takes too long. If you want a text blog then just go and set up a normal blog. So there are 3 main options really…video, photos or audio. They are all incredibly simple to use and you really don’t need to invest in anything more than a good phone these days. Don’t spend any extra money on software or anything like that and just use tools like your webcam, YouTube and Audioboo
Head Over To Tumblr
Once you have the subject and the method in which you are going to deliver it all you have to do is go over to Tumblr and sign up for a free account. I wouldn’t even bother getting your own domain name and simply host it with them instead, cuts out all the hassle. You can select from a ton of great themes that they have and personalize your blog however you see fit. I’d advise you to keep it as simple as possible.
Promote Automatically
There are some very easy settings that allow you to publish your content to other networks automatically. For example every time I take a photo for my blog and upload it then it automatically gets sent to my Facebook news feed and my Twitter feed with the title of the photo. It’s a great way to get people to see your content and grow and initial audience but make sure to keep it personal if you are using this method as people don’t like getting bombarded with links too often unless they know what they are about.
Forget About Making Money Or Getting Traffic
So many people come in to blogging with intentions of making money or getting tons of traffic. This is one of the few places on the internet that will act as your little corner of the web and those pressures or ideas of making money do not exist. Chances are if you create something of value and people want to see it on a daily basis then traffic will come but you should set out with the idea of creating something unique or of value and the rest will follow.
Use Your Mobile
The beauty of Tumblr is that it is perfectly set up to use mobile with lots of different apps and easy ways to update and submit content through your mobile when you are on the go. I would not update mine as often as I do if it were not for my mobile, it really does make your life very very easy.
Share Your Tumblr
If you do go ahead and set one of these up then just send me an email with the new address, don’t be shy! It really is such a simple thing to do and if you were ever thinking of setting up a blog or too shy or nervous to do so then this is your chance. It will be an amazing feeling once you have posted your first bit of content and one that you will want to repeat over and over again. Let us know how you get on and best of luck 
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