Using Tumblr -- Yes for Real -- for Podcast Marketing 🌸

i like your shoelaces. sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.

Hi hello! Wil here for ALL MY TRIED AND TRUE TUMBLRINAS. Confession: earlier this year, I accidentally deleted my whole Tumblr. 14 years of shitposts down the drain — hm, ew. But I am, at my heart, a tumblrina, someone who lives and dies by the hellsite.

And a main reason why? The podcast culture on Tumblr rules, and it’s always overlooked. In the current landscape of social media crumbling at our fingertips, Tumblr is a shockingly great platform for brand building and community building. And yes, there are actually people still on there; there was a huge influx of new and returning users fled from Twitter after the Muskening.

So! How do you use Tumblr for marketing your podcast? First, folks who have never used Tumblr at all, go watch this video and then return. Tumblr is extremely different from other social media platforms, and you must play by the rules to succeed. Next, go follow Tumblr podcaster supreme Lauren Shippen. Now, let’s dive in.

‼️Marketing is not synonymous with growth

Social media is not an effective means of growing your podcast, and this edition of PMM is not about growing your podcast. This edition is about marketing in the sense of brand building, staying relevant to your audience, and community building. Those are all super important parts of marketing! Retention is vital! But my god, do not start a Tumblr because you think it will grow your listenership. It could! It has many times before! But that should not be your goal here.

Also know that notes (likes and reblogs) on Tumblr have a different weight than other social media sites by a lot. One note on Tumblr is like, a thousand likes on TikTok. Don’t go looking for huge numbers. Celebrate every single note.

🌌Consider your ~aesthetic~

NO STAY WITH ME HERE! Tumblr is a “blogging” platform, but unlike Wordpress or Medium, Tumblr is visuals first. “Aesthetic blogs” are a huge, huge part of the tumblr ecosystem — and you should harness them for your podcast. Most of your posting on Tumblr will be in reblogs, not original posting — at least 60% should be content you share from other blogs instead of content you post yourself. My favorite way to get started on that is to follow related aesthetic blogs and reblog what feels like it fits with your podcast. Do not just reblog podcast-specific imagery. If you’re making a food podcast, reblog food pictures and recipes. If your podcast is horror, reblog horror podcasts.

Favorite examples:

• Unwell

• Sidequesting

🤪Get sillay

Tumblr has always been one of the funniest sites on the internet. Like half of people’s favorite funny tweets are just stolen from Tumblr. But Tumblr has a very specific brand of humor. Take, for instance, my favorite post on Tumblr:

I think about Napkin every day.

Unless your podcast has a deeply serious tone, be a big goofball on Tumblr. Make silly goofy absurdist jokes. Reblog silly goofy absurdist jokes that vibe with your show. Have a good sense of humor, and let yourself get weird with it. Taking yourself too seriously is a deeply outdated view of Tumblr. Now, the site belongs to funny little freaks — thank god.

Favorite examples:

• Desperado

• Where the Stars Fell

✌🏻Literally just vibe

You can and should use your Tumblr for new episode releases, updates, previews of upcoming episodes, etc. etc. etc. — but mostly, you should just vibe. Again: Tumblr is for audience retention and community, not acquisition. Don’t focus on advertising your podcast. Focus on keeping the vibe of your podcast going in between episodes. Use the queue feature to stack up a bunch of reblogs without having to be active all day on Tumblr. Think about what listening to your podcast feels like, and channel that into your Tumblr. Think of your blog as little reminders to your audience that your podcast exists, and that they love hanging out in the space your podcast creates for them — and then put that world on their dash regularly.

Favorite examples:

• The Kingmaker Histories

• Greater Boston

⭐ More Magic:

• Accessibility in podcasting is SO important to me, and I love this piece on how to make your podcast (and website!) more accessible by Pacific Content

• And similarly, this Weekly Tweak is all about transcripts

• And congrats congrats congrats to Kattie of Pod the North for escaping freelancing with her new role at Bumper! 🎉🎉🎉

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🎧From The Desk of Tink:

TED Tech is the TED Audio Collective’s dive into the world of tech, hosted by maybe the coolest podcast host I’ve ever met: Sherrell Dorsey. Tech is, of course, a huge topic, and this collection of TED Talks covers every angle of the field, from cyber crime to clean energy innovations to conversations about fostering diverse workplaces in tech. And Dorsey’s captivating, humanistic, charismatic presence roots everything in a sense of excitement, but also reality.

Shreya returns next week with more podcast marketing magic! Thanks for reading and PLEASE share your favorite Tumblr shitpost in the comments PLEASE.

—Wil🦇