Ultimate Guide To Learn How To Use Tumblr

What is Tumblr?

Tumblr is a website for microblogging and social networking. It was founded in 2007 by David Karp. It allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-term blog.

Users are also allowed to follow other users' blogs on Tumblr. Bloggers need to establish their reputation to make themselves known to a larger audience.

As a blogger, you can personalize your blog and make it public. Tumblr has gained worldwide recognition, hosting over 475 million blogs as of August 12, 2019. The website has unique components we will discuss further.

What are the essential components of Tumblr?

Tumblr has four essential components that make it work effectively. The components are the dashboard, queue, tags, and HTML editing.

You need to understand how these components work so that you can use the site easily. Let's have a look at what are these components are.

Dashboard: This is a fundamental tool for every user of Tumblr. It's a live feed that shows the recent blog posts that bloggers follow. Tumblr users have access to comments, reblogs, and other blog posts that appear on their dashboards.

As a user, you can upload text, images, videos, quotes, or links to their blogs by clicking the button at the top of the dashboard.

Every user can link their blogs to other social network accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter. Each time a post is created, it will be sent as a tweet and a status update.

Queue: Queues are delayed posts set up by the user. Each user can schedule their posts by setting them up to appear over a period of time. This may be set from a few hours to a couple of days.

Tags: Tags help users find posts on certain topics by adding them to their audience.

For example, if you want to upload a picture to your blog and want other people to find your picture, you'd add a hashtag # under the image.

HTML editing: Every user can edit HTML coding to monitor how their blogs appear and add a custom domain name for their website.

How can I create a Tumblr account?

Creating a Tumblr account is quite simple. You only need your mobile or computer.

To open your account, follow the steps below:

Go to the address bar and type www.tumblr.com. The page will open up, and it will give you the option to either sign up or log in.

To create an account, you would be requested to provide an email, a password, and a username. After that, you can log in.

Make sure that the email you fill in is active, and use a username that you like because it is what others will see once your account has been activated.

You can start posting once your account has been created. The first actions to take will be to pick out an avatar, a title, and a theme for your blog.

Please note that you need to have a valid email address before you sign up, else you are not going to be able to verify your account.

After doing these simple steps you are set for blogging in your Tumblr account.

What is the minimum age to use Tumblr?

Tumblr requires users must be over 13 years old. Although they don't do an ID verification they still have it as the minimum age limit.

Can I have more than one Tumblr Account?

Yes, you can have multiple Tumblr accounts. However, you will need to use another email address for every account you open. It is also possible for you to manage different blogs in a single account.

What can I do when it keeps saying letters, numbers, and dashes during the signup process?

You need to be sure that you are not inputting invalid characters. Invalid characters are anything that is not a letter, number, hyphen, or dash. Unlike other websites that permit underscore (_ ), Tumblr does not.

Therefore, if you encounter the above situation, you need to remove any invalid characters. For Tumblr, invalid characters include the following: @, +,!, %, &, ^, *, etc.

I just deleted my account, and I want to sign up again. However, I am having challenges using the same email. What can I do?

It is much possible that you didn't delete the previous account completely. In this situation, you should try logging in with your email and the password for the account you deleted.

If you don't remember the password, use the Forgot Password command; I will help you to reset it. If you can log into the account, then you have not deleted it, and you can now delete it.

And open a new account. However, if you have deleted it and you are unable to log in, you can contact the Tumblr support team, or you use another email address for the new account you want to open.

Does Tumblr Require A Phone Number For Verification?

Tumblr doesn't require a phone number for account verification. You also don't need a phone since Tumblr works both on mobile devices and computers.

Does Tumblr require birth date or residential address information to sign up for an account?

Tumblr doesn't require any birth date or residential address information to sign up for an account.

I just finished creating my account, what should I do next?

After you create your account, you will need to verify your email address. When you verify your email address, Tumblr will be able to ascertain if it has the correct email address for you.

Also, while you complete your account sign up, Tumblr unlocks some features and visibility gradually.

Signing up involves you entering your email address, password, username, and verify your account.

Also, as you follow other blogs, like posts of others, customize the appearance of your blog, you will also have access to the particular feature, and visibility then Tumblr will unlock.

The more you use Tumblr, the more you will enjoy Tumblr and have more to explore. Moreover, the verification of your email is essential for you to get started and enjoy Tumblr.

If you are yet to receive an email from Tumblr for verification, click the green banner at the top of your dashboard to resend it.

How can I make my content appear in search?

It is possible for you as a new user on Tumblr not to appear on the search results or tag pages.

One way you get to enjoy Tumblr more is that it will keep adding visibility to your blog, the more you use it. The more you follow blogs, the more you show interest by liking posts, and the better you become at creating or reblogging good content, the more you will become visible to others.

Each time you think about your visibility, always remember that there are millions of users that publish content daily on Tumblr. Hence, there is no guarantee that every published post will appear in a single search.

The search on Tumblr is directed by the algorithm. The algorithm provides a great variety of content through tags and phrases, including your content. You may not see your post in search immediately, but other users are seeing it.

How can I gain followers on my Tumbler account?

If you want to gain followers, you must be visible. You can participate in the Tumblr community as much as possible.

Participating in the community involves the following; following many blogs, you should reblog, like other people’s posts, and you should also publish good content.

Tag your posts with keywords; it will aid other users to see them when they search on Tumblr.

To make it easy, use the Tumblr search feature to discover communities, items that will interest you, and the blogs you can follow.

Go to the web and click the compass icon placed in the top right corner of your dashboard. If you are using either of the Android or iOS mobile apps, tap the search icon.

Many recommended topics and blogs that will be connected to your interest will come up, and you can identify them, and follow them to have started building your followership.

Does Tumblr have any security features to protect my account?

You do not have to be afraid. When it comes to security, Tumblr is reliable. It is a safe means of browsing, discovering content, and interacting with other online subscribers.

However, Tumblr also relies on you to make specific proactive measures for your account information. One of such measures is that you should regularly change the password you use for your Tumblr and your email account.

You do not have limitations when you can change your password. You can change it anytime on your settings page. Always make use of unique passwords for all websites you log into. There are other steps you can take, including the following:

You should turn on the two-factor authentication in your account setting.

This will require you’re your password and a code is sent to your phone when you look like While setting it up, you would receive a recovery backup code; make sure you keep this.

Also, you should turn on the Email me about account activity option, which is in your account setting.

This option will enable you to receive an email each time someone logs into your account, a new app is authorized, or your password is changed.

Be sure that your computer is secured both digitally and physically. Consistently scan for malware and spyware.

Each time you are done on the site, make sure you log out by clicking on the account menu and selecting the logout, which is at the very top of the menu.

Don't enter your Tumblr credentials on any other site aside from Tumblr.com; at the same time, look for the lock icon in your browser's address bar that indicates a secure connection. For example, (https://www.tumblr.com).

How often should I change my Tumblr password?

Although Tumblr doesn't dictate a “must change period” for you to update your old password it is a good idea to do it every year or so.

Always use unique passwords for every website you log into and avoid using a previous password.

How do I reset my password?

You can reset your password, either you are logged in or not. To reset it while you are not logged into your account, go to Tumblr's password reset page and make a request for a new password.

This can take up to 10 minutes before you will receive an email from them. If it happens that you didn't get an email, you will have to go through email troubleshooting to identify the challenge and solve it.

To reset your password while you are logged in, click on Settings. It is under the account menu at the top of the dashboard (it looks like a human). There is a password section in it, and you can easily update your password there and click Save.

If you are using the mobile app for Tumblr, tap the account icon; then, tap the gear icon. Now you can tap the General setting and then tap the password. You should follow the procedure that follows to update your password.

How do I go about the email troubleshooting for me to receive an email from Tumblr that will help to change my password?

If you are unable to receive email from Tumblr, do the following:
Go to your account setting, check and make sure that there is no typographical error in the email address that is listed for your account. Also, check your spam or junks filters.

You should add no-reply@tumblr.com to your address book or contact. You should also try changing your email address to another address that you have access to and check if you receive email perfectly with the new address.

Is Tumblr reblog better than like?

Getting a reblog and a like are both excellent. They both signal a level of achievement, which shows that you perhaps have good content that people can benefit from, and as a result, they are showing interest in you.

However, reblog carries more weight than alike. It is the most basic method you need to present your content and distribute it to many users outside your network on Tumblr.

A reblog will take your post farther beyond the shore of your followers. Hence, it is more valuable than a like.

Is there a Tumblr guideline on how to reblog a post?

Certainly, there is a standard policy that guides reblogging a post. If you come across a post that you like on Tumblr, you are expected to reblog the post and not to copy the content directly from the blog and paste it on your blog to form your post.

Do I need to format my posts for the Dashboard or my Tumblr page?

You see, your dashboard carries great weight. It is the place where most of the interactions with your blog will take place.

You get your likes and reblog there. Your blog is the most important means for you to get a full look at your content. Therefore, you need to leave a good impression.

If you want your posts to be attractive to your viewers, you need to use the appropriate post form. Stay away from inserting photos into your post's text. Also, do not use custom HTML when possible.

What is the maximum number of Tumblr followers allowed?

There are no limitations to the number of followers you can gather on Tumblr. This is because the number of followers you have does not count.

If you want to be successful on Tumblr, and judge how far you have gone, you need to focus on the rate of reblogs and likes that you get from your audience.

When you use a site like TumblrStats, you will get the analytics on your blog, which will give you better information than what you would have on your board.

Which type of Tumblr post gives the best results?

There are seven types of content that you are allowed to post on Tumblr. These include text, photo, link, audio, chat, quote, and video.

When you are creating your content, each of them asks for different information. Also, they have different formats on your blog and your Dashboard. It is possible for some of your posts to fit into more than one of these types of posts.

However, you need to pay close attention to the focus of your post. Is the focus on captivating sound? Does it require a picture? You should select the type of post that will suit your content.

What time or when is the best period for a person to post on Tumblr?

There is no specific time for you to post on Tumblr. There is a scheduling feature on Tumblr that is designed to help you be in control of when you want a post to appear on your blog.

It is quite important for you to stagger your post throughout the whole day.

However, a research carried out by Bitly, a site that shortens URL claimed that the highest rate of activity on Tumblr falls after 4 p.m.

How can I receive questions from people on Tumblr?

When your blog is successful, people will interact with you. The interaction always comes in the form of comments. Also, you can engage your blog visitors by inviting them to ask you questions.

Every other Tumblr members or any anonymous visitor is permitted to leave questions for you publicly or privately.

However, if you want to receive questions from people, you need to make your question box visible to them because Tumblr doesn’t leave steps open by default. You can follow these steps to open your question box.

Activate Your Question Box: Identify the gear icon on your Tumblr dashboard that is followed by the blog you want to update and click it.

When you click it, you will see a section with the name Ask. Here is a checkbox in the section named Let People Ask Question; put a checkmark in it.

Go to the Ask Page Title text box, add the sentence or the phrase you want to display on the Ask page title. Whatever you type will appear on the button blog that visitors will see on the Ask page.

If you want people to ask a question, place a checkmark in the Allow Anonymous Questions checkbox.

Make sure the checkbox is empty, and it will be opened for just Tumblr members to ask you questions.

Try asking yourself a question: after the activation, you should test it to be sure that it works rightly. You need to view your blog the way your audience will view it.

If you view it as others, you will locate a new button that contains the sentence or phrase you typed into the Ask Page Title text box. You should click the button, and a text box will pop up.

You should type a question in the text box and click Ask to submit your question. After submitting your question, you will receive a Thank you message with an acknowledgment message that will show that Tumblr received your question.

How can I view the Questions I have?

To view the questions people have for you, you should visit your dashboard. There is an envelope icon on it; click on the icon, and you will have access to people's questions.

Every question will display in a distinct box. The box will contain the username of the person who asked the question; it will display Anonymous if an anonymous visitor asked the question.

When you see a username, it shows that the person who asked the question is a Tumblr user.

How can I send a reply to people's questions?

When you open a question, you will see an Answer icon below the question. Click the icon, and you will be able to type your response in a text box.

Whenever you reply to an anonymous visitor, Tumblr will post the answer on your blog as a post. If it is a question sent by a Tumblr user, once you click the answer icon below the question, you will see an Answer Privately button.

If you want to reply to him or her privately, you can click the button.

How important is it to Activate the Question box?

If you want to understand your audience and know their interest, the opportunity for them to ask you questions will reveal that.

For example, you can ask this question: “Ask me about my blog layout.” That way, you would get a lot of advice from your audience.

Sometimes, you may get the needed information or links that will boost your blog from the suggestions that people will make.

When your audience asks you questions, it shows a great level of interaction going on your blog. You should not take it lightly or for granted.

I heard there was an update to Tumblr’s Community Guideline; please, when did it come into effect?

Yes, Tumblr came up with new policies on adult content posting on blogs, and the policy went into effect on December 17, 2018. From the date, Tumblr started flagging adult content, and it was rejected.

The policy also includes the removal of existing adult content on their website as much as possible.

What does Tumblr consider as adult content?

On Tumblr, adult content includes photos, videos, or even GIFs that display human genitals or female nipples in a real-life manner.

Also, any video, photo, or GIF that portrays sex acts is considered adult content, and Tumblr does not accept them any longer.

What does Tumblr permit?

There are exceptions to it. An exposed female nipple that is connected to an activity of breastfeeding, health-related circumstances such as gender confirmation surgery or post-mastectomy, or during birth and after birth is acceptable.

Also, written text, including erotica, speech that is embedded with nudity to political and it is newsworthy, works of art that portray nudity, such as illustrations, and sculptures can also be posted on Tumblr freely.

What happened to the Safe Mode?

Tumblr’s new policy went against the use of the Safe Mode; hence, the feature was removed. The new policy worked for everyone regardless of the differences in age.

What to do if Tumblr flagged your content?

If you believe your content was flagged by mistake through incorrect categorization, you can make an appeal.

A form was sent to you via your email; fill the form to appeal, and you may use the button on the post that was flagged.

However, you should note that you can only carry out this process on the web or with Tumblr app version 12.2 or the higher version.

Does Tumblr still show adult content?

Tumblr changed its policy by December 17th, 2018, and doesn't allow any more adult content to be published on its platform.

However, you may still come across some adult content. The reason revolves around technical challenges that are related to moderation at scale.

Every content that is a violation of Tumblr's guidelines can still show up. Tumblr receives millions of posts from users daily; to review them all and get it right is quite complex.

However, Tumblr will be committed to continuously improving. Also, you can help by reporting any adult content you do not want to see to Tumblr's Trust & Safety team.

What will Tumblr do to my existing adult content?

Tumblr sent out emails to members of the community whose content was flagged for being adult content.

The email they sent provided a link to the post they flagged and a form to appeal to Tumblr's decisions if any member believes that Tumblr made a mistake.

From December 17th, every flagged content was reverted to a private setting that is viewable only by you as the owner. It is important that your email address is active because all of your needed information will be sent there.

There was also the possibility of downloading the contents of your blog before the policy was effected.

What happens to a blog (not a post) that was marked as “explicit” before December 17, 2018?

Every blog that was either self-flagged or got flagged by Tumblr as explicit' following the old policy before December 17th, 2018, will remain overlaid with a content filter during the period of reviewing the blogs.

Although some of the contents in the “explicit” blogs may be in violation of Tumblr’s policies, and they will be sanctioned accordingly, the owners can still choose to post contents that will be accepted by the new policies; hence, Tumblr is willing to provide the option.

However, users that are under 18 are not allowed to click through to see the content of the blogs. At the same time, there will be a reversion of the avatars and headers of the blogs to a default setting.

Will Tumblr kick me off if I had posted adult content in the past?

Tumblr is interested in removing the content, not the people. However, if a person repeatedly and intentionally posts adult content that violates the new guidelines, Tumblr will have to deactivate his or her account according to their Terms of Service.

Nonetheless, you can always appeal if you think you were suspended wrongly.

What happens if I reblog an adult content?

Tumblr will notify the original poster of the adult content about the removal of the content, and it will be removed from your blog also.

How can I add an “About Me” Page on Tumblr?

At the point of signing up, you would have introduced yourself. However, as you post constantly, the information will fade out of sight, and the new audience you are building will not get to see it.

Even the existing audience will not have access to it any longer. Most of Tumblr's themes do not come with extra pages such as an About Me Page; you can, however, edit your theme to have one.

You are simply adding a new page to your Tumblr blog, which is slightly more demanding than creating a new post. To add a new page, you can follow the following steps:

You should log in to your Tumblr dashboard; there is a button that looks like a gear at the top of the page. Click on it.

You should then click on the blog you want to add an About Me page at the panel, which is on the left side of the screen. Click the Customize button in the Theme section.

Now, you should scroll down the left sidebar until you see Add a Page, and you should click it. The Add a Page interface is what you will use to fill in the title you want to use for the About Me Page, and it's content.

You need to specify the Page’s URL in the field above the Page Title. You do this by adding a name you choose at the end of your Tumblr URL after the slash and make sure you don't have any space nor special characters.
There is a toggle next to Show a link to this page.

The toggle is located at the top of the page; you should click it and then click on Save to create the page and add it to your Tumblr blog.

How can I track an anonymous on Tumblr?

Right now, Tumblr does not have a system that helps to track anonymous visitors.

However, you may employ the help of a visitor tracker. You can add a visitor tracker to your blog, such as StatCounter. StatCounter will allow you to see the visitor's paths in your blog.

Nonetheless, this method is not quite easy. Most likely, it happens in such a way that two people are sending messages to you at the same time, and one will send an anonymous message, you will not know who exactly is the anonymous visitor.

Can others know that I visited their Tumblr and checked their archives?

The answer is capital NO. Tumblr does not reveal when and what it is that you at on another user's archive.

However, if the user uses a tracker such as the Google Analytics or StatCounter, that will show them your IP address, the number of times you visited, the pages you checked, and your location.

However, it still wouldn't show them your username. Somehow, you are safe.

Can other users see what I follow on Tumblr?

This is a Yes and No answer. Others can see what you are following on Tumblr if the theme you are using for your blog does not have the feature that permits you to block them from doing so.

How do you know about that? You need to go to your Tumblr and check if there are people I follow the section on it. If it is there, go to Customize the appearance, when you get there, you should see a tab at the top of your webpage.

Click on the tab to open it, and scroll down the tab, while scrolling, you should have an option or a little box that is ticked (the box will show this Show the people I follow) if you don’t want them to show, all you to do is to untick it.

However, if that does not seem to be an option, then you can change your theme with a new theme that gives you the option to hide what you are following from others.

How can I hide from search?

It is possible for you to hide from others in the Tumblr Search. You will be changing this in your setting.

However, your followers will still have access to your posts on their fields, and anyone who knows your blog address will be free to visit it on their own.

To hide, you need to go to your blog's setting using the web version of Tumblr; you will click the Setting button. There is a checkbox titled Allow this blog to appear in search results uncheck it. That way, you will not show on Tumblr’s search engine.

How can I search People on Tumblr?

Tumblr developed a built-in search feature to assist every user to search for other users. The search will help you to find others, friends, business colleagues easily, and you can connect with them by following them.

Tumblr needs to scan your Gmail and Facebook email contact lists after you give them your permission. This way, Tumblr can quickly help you to identify other users on the website.

Also, you can use the search feature on your dashboard. To use the search feature, you should take the following steps. Log in to your account and go to your dashboard page. Click the Find Blogs link.

A tab will appear that says the People You Know. Click on it, and it will bring the Gmail and Facebook link out; click on any of them to specify the account you want to search.

If you are yet to link your Tumblr account with Facebook and Gmail, click the Go to App button or the Allow Access button when the instruction comes. You will see a list of your contact on your Tumblr page.

How can I delete my account or blog?

To delete your blog or your account, go to your primary blog’s settings page or the settings page of your account and click on the Delete account button that is at the bottom of the page.

If I delete my Tumblr account, will the question I posted on another user's box be also deleted if they haven't seen it?

No, your question will not be deleted. However, the link to your profile may be disassociated from the question.

What will happen when I delete my account or blog?

Hmm! A lot of things are at stake once you delete your account. Deletions cannot be reversed; you need to understand that at first. Immediately you delete your account, all of your content is gone FOREVER. Also, the following will happen:

Once you delete your account, your primary blog will be deleted. You have a secondary blog, which you are the only member on; this will also be deleted, and automatically, you will be removed from any group you belong to.

You will lose access to your blog URL, and someone else who wants to create a blog will have it.

However, you can still create a new account with the same email you used for the previous account.

As of now, you can only delete your account and blog from a browser, either on your laptop or your phone. However, you cannot use the app.