For many of us, Tumblr may seem like a relic of the past now. But back then, it wasn’t unusual to see people using Tumblr as a website.

I even came across this fashion blogger who had a blog on Tumblr.

I’m not sure if she’s still using Tumblr as a website since I didn’t follow her on Tumblr. So, I can’t say for sure if she’s still using Tumblr.

Heck, for all I know she’s no longer around anymore considering that many fashion blogs cease to exist over the last couple of years.

But back in the heyday, using Tumblr as a website was a thing.

Even I also use Tumblr in the past and loved it.

So, I get why many people will choose Tumblr as their preferred platform.

Not only Tumblr was easy to use. But you can get truckloads of people viewing your post thanks to the tag you use.

And you don’t have to scratch your head about what tags you should be using for more eyeballs on your post. Tumblr will suggest the popular tags you should use based on what you type.

Regardless of how obscure your niche is, you’re bound to find the tags that many people are using.

Of course, Tumblr isn’t that much different from any other social media platform out there.

You can only gain some traction the more people discover and engage with your content on Tumblr.

Even with that, I find that it’s faster to gain traction on Tumblr compared to anywhere else.

It’s no wonder why people love Tumblr so much.

My history with Tumblr

As you already know, I used to be on Tumblr in the past. While my relationship with Tumblr began during my fashion retail business stint, my relationship with Tumblr deepened when I started another Tumblr posting news about the Japanese rock bands that I love.

Back then, I already had a similar blog on Orble. But I decided to move to Tumblr when I noticed that my blog on Orble didn’t generate affiliate commission like it used to.

Another reason why I’m switching to Tumblr? I know that many people who love these bands as much as I do are also on Tumblr.

As you can expect, I didn’t see any traction at all when I got started.

But things turned out for the better when people started to like and reblog those Tumblr posts.

And thanks to that, I started to generate affiliate commissions in the process, way more than what I used to get when I was active on Orble.

Sad to say, things changed when Tumblr threw a curveball at me.

Just like Orble, I no longer generated affiliate commissions like I used to.

It dried up to the point where my affiliate commissions were zero.

The cause behind my affiliate commission drying up like a well in the desert?

People aren’t using Tumblr as much as they used to. And I won’t find it surprising at all if some people stopped using Tumblr altogether for various reasons.

The biggest lessons that I learned when I was using Tumblr as a website

I’m sure that you can guess where I’m going with this. You’re better off building your own platform on land that you have full control of.

And it’s even more important than ever to do that if your livelihood is depending on it.

What is it, you ask?

It’s having your own website, of course.

If I got myself a self-hosted WordPress site instead of having one on Tumblr, I would still be generating affiliate commissions to this day.

Does it mean that I won’t be using Tumblr at all?

Well, not exactly. In this case, Tumblr is just another platform that I use to drive traffic back to my website.

Rather than using Tumblr to post my content, I only use Tumblr to direct people to the website instead.

It’s only a place where I post a link and be done with it. Most of the action will be on my website, nowhere else.

How I treat Tumblr isn’t any different from Twitter, Pinterest, and any platform you can think of.

If Tumblr disappears one day, I can always find another traffic source to replace it. No biggie here.

But this sort of thing isn’t going to happen to the platform I’m currently using right now

You probably have this notion that the platform you’re using right now won’t have the same fate as Tumblr.

Well, you can’t imagine something similar can happen to Instagram and Tiktok, right?

Here’s the thing about all these platforms. It will eventually reach a point where the user base isn’t as growing as it used to be.

And it’s possible that the user base is sliding every single day too.

Yes, Tumblr is still around to this day. But it doesn’t have the same clout as it was in the past.

Sure, you can argue that Tumblr has gone through so many changes that made people turn their tail and never look back.

But even if there are no changes made on Tumblr, people are still going to move away and be somewhere else.

That seems to be the case with the younger audience.

They have no issues with switching to a different platform especially when it’s the trendiest platform in town. And people around them are using it.

Tough luck if you spend most of your time, money, and energy building your audience on that platform only to find out that your audience is moving to the next shiny object in town.

But if you have your own website? You don’t need to care about the newest player in the game.

Heck, you don’t need to be on this platform if you don’t want to.

If anything, your audience can always go to your website. They know that’s the best place to find you if you’re not on any of the platforms they’re currently using.

The ONE thing you should be focusing on right now

If you already have a website, focus on all your effort in bringing more of your readers to your website instead of your social media profile or platforms like Tiktok and YouTube.

And yes, Tumblr as well if you’re still using one.

Let them know about your website by posting a link on your bio and your videos if you’re on Tiktok and YouTube.

But what if you don’t have a website yet? If that’s you, then what are you waiting for?

Now is the time to get started with building your own website.

Here’s the guide on how you can create an author website if you want to do it yourself.

And if you’re curious about what I use to create my own website, I use Namecheap for the domain name, SetraHost for hosting, and Divi theme for my WordPress theme.

That sounds like a lot of work!

Yes, I admit that having your own website as a platform to market your book may not sound sexy to many of you.

Not only do you have to create the website and drive the traffic to the website yourself. But you have to spend the money to create the website too.

And let’s not forget the time you spend creating the website and driving traffic to it. There’s no guarantee that all the time and effort you put in will generate the outcome you hope for.

It’s no wonder why so many of us hesitate to have our own website.

After all, the only guarantee we have is full control of our own platform.

We’d rather rely on those platforms by the big tech despite knowing that we’ll be at a mercy of these tech companies.

Yes, having your own website doesn’t feel like a boon in the short term. But in the long term, you’ll realize that it’s the best thing you can have in your author business.

Not only that you feel a sense of security when you have full control of how you make money. But you know full well that there’s a way for your readers to find you online when these platforms eventually cease to exist.

Yes, go and get your own website right now.

The future you will thank you for it.

P.S. While it’s true that I’m a big advocate of having your own website, I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be active on social media.

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