so, you’re new to the studyblr community and dont know where to start. many people have been in this position, including myself. i was recently asked by @theboldrevision on how to grow their blog. here are a few tips on how to start a studyblr and how to grow.
have it something related to yourself and/or studying. this way it makes it easy to distinguish yourself as a studyblr. try and make it short as it is easy for people to remember.
have an appropriate theme which correlates to your content. if your predominant focus is on photos; you can get away with a multi column theme but I find them personally difficult to navigate. if your blog is based mainly on text a singular column theme is a must have, it makes it easier to read large blocks of text i.e masterposts
i recommend these themes: hera | genesis | caerus | nocturne | easton | 176 | nayeli
the icon size on tumblr is 135px x 135px
it can be made using photoshop, (windows / mac) or if you prefer a legal route you can use vecteezy.com. your icon can be whatever you want, it can be a selfie, an icon or even a drawing
this is up to personal preference, I have one but many blogs don’t. the size for the header is 640px x 360px. yet again, it can be anything you desire, you can have a photo (max size 10MB) or a gif (max size 3MB)
choose a colour pallet for your theme, i recommend coolors.co for all my colour pallet needs. make sure the colours are visible and don’t interfere with your content. this will ensure that your log is easy to see. on the topic of visibility, make sure your text size is visible for those with poor vision, we really appreciate it. choose a background which contrasts your text colour, I prefer a white background with black text but as long as it is legible it will work. i personally prefer minimalist themes as they are clean and easy to navigate but as long as it isn’t overly cluttered and is legible it will work.
make an into post so people can get to know you, state some facts about you, your ambitions in life and with your blog, who inspired you etc. it is an easy way for people to get to know you and make friends as people with similar interests may ask you questions or dm you
make friends, almost everyone is friendly and is always willing to help you out. don’t be afraid to message or ask people for advice. try and reply to messages and dms, you might make a friend.
participate in events, eg blog rates, blog awards, ask games etc.host your own events; same as above, giveaways (if financially viable), follow forevers. join networks such as the small studyblr network @smallstudyblrsunite. it is an easy way to make friends and have your content reach an audience
what is your focus going to be? photos, masterposts, tips, or a variety. choose what you want to post as it is important in forming your niche. A rule of thumb is original ideas are the best ideas when it comes to masterposts and advice.
you don’t need a fancy camera, i use my phone. i strongly recommend natural lighting as it provides the best picture quality and it prevents over saturated photos caused by artificial light. choose a background that complements the object you’re taking a photo of. some people use their desk, a bench, table or their bed. i have also seen people use paper for their background. your options are limitless. you can try putting stationery or other things around your photo to make it interesting. you can include stationery, a drink, flowers, washi tape etc. make sure there aren’t many/any shadows directly on top of what your photographing as it makes it harder to see. then it comes to editing, i usually increase the brightness and/or exposure, the warmth and the highlights just a bit to make it clearer. Some apps which people use are vsco (android / iOS) instagram and photoshop. i mainly use the the photos app on iOS to edit but i sometimes use photoshop. however, all photos don’t need to be staged like this, sometimes authentic photos are just as good. at the end of the day do what feels right to you.
tag your posts with related tags and use tracking tags of your favourite blogs so they can see your content (mine is #aoademic)
here is a directory of a lot of tracking tags made by @enfpstud
0-C | D-G | H-L | M-R | S-Z
and some more by @getshitdonetbh (X)
using popular tags will help you gain some extra exposure such as #studyblr #new studyblr #studying #student #studyspo #notes. tag your favourite blogs in your posts so they can see them but don’t go over the top.
don’t focus on followers and notes as the purpose is to become motivated to study and share that with the studyblr community. just think of notes and followers as icing on the cake, they’re a nice extra but what’s the point of icing without a cake? (terrible analogy, i know)
the queue is a lifesaver. it auto posts your posts and if you activate queue 2.0 in tumblr labs you can schedule how many posts are posted, what time intervals you want a post posted and how long per day your queue is on. It makes it look like your blog is active when you are not online so you can focus on other things and not be on tumblr all day. i have mine set overnight as people on the other side of the world can see fresh content from my blog while I’m asleep. it is very convenient but you can queue 300 posts.
always source your original content so if people add to your post or delete your caption you will still be noted as the source. this can be done by clicking the gear icon and putting your blog url in the content source section. you can also watermark your original posts. this is usually done by placing your blog name or url somewhere in the post where it cant be cropped out but isn’t too distracting.
please don’t repost, always reblog!!! (i can’t stress this enough) along those lines, avoid reblogging photos without captions or photos from pinterest and weheartit as it is probably stolen content. this is because many posts are being reuploaded and initially they might state the source and is later deleted or they don’t give credit at all. to respect the content creator please avoid doing this.
the best advice is to be friendly and be yourself. i wish you the best with your academic future ♡
