How to Post to Someone Else's Blog in Tumblr

By Randall Blackburn

Post on blogs other than your own on Tumblr.
i Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images

You can publish blog posts to someone else’s Tumblr blog if the owner of the blog has enabled submissions for viewers in the blog settings. However, Tumblr also offers other ways to interact with the blog owner and her followers. You can reblog and reply to posts, if enabled. You can also ask the blog owner questions using the Ask Me Anything feature. Finally, if you have been invited to contribute to a private group blog, you can publish posts as a member or administrator, depending on your level of access.

Submit Posts

If the owner of a blog has enabled posts, you can open her submission page by logging in to your Tumblr dashboard, then locating the username of the owner of the blog on which you would like to post. Append the blog’s URL with “/submit.” For example, to open JoeDoeBlog’s submission page, type “joedoeblog.tumblr.com/submit/" in the browser address bar, then press “Enter.” If the blog owner has this feature enabled, the blog’s Submit page opens in the browser. Click the "Post Type" drop-down box, then click the type of post to publish. Complete the post form, then click “Post” to submit the post for approval by the blog owner. Note that the owner of the blog must approve all submissions.

Replies and Reblogs

Tumblr blog owners can enable replies and reblogs on their posts. The Reply and Reblog icons display at the bottom of each post. The Reply feature allows you to post a 250-character response to the post. The Reblog feature cites the original post by link or quote. You can enter up to 500 additional characters to the original post content in a Reblog post. Your replies display in the Notes section for the original post. When you reblog a post, the reblogged post displays in your own timeline.

Ask Me Anything

As you browse Tumblr blogs, you may notice links with the text ”Ask” or “Ask Me Anything” on several sites. Ask Me Anything is a Tumblr feature that can be enabled in the blog Settings menu, as with submissions. The Ask Me Anything link opens a Q & A page that allows visitors and followers to post questions for the blog owner to answer. Use the Ask Me Anything feature rather than a blog post to interact directly with the blog owner. Keep in mind that posts you publish on the owner’s or any public Tumblr blog can be viewed by anyone. You can post your query to the blog owner anonymously or with your username attached using the Ask feature.

Group Blogs

Group blogs are private, password-protected blogs that are available only to group members and administrators. You must be invited to join a group blog. Your invitation must include the URL to the blog, along with the password for entry. Log in to Tumblr, then open the blog’s URL in a browser. The password prompt displays. Type the password, then click “OK.” Once logged in to the group blog dashboard, click the icon for the type of post to publish. Complete the new post form, then click “Post” to publish the content.

Enable Submissions in Your Tumblr Blog

To enable submissions on your own Tumblr blog, log in to your dashboard, then click the gear icon to open your Account Settings menu. Click the name of the blog to edit in the left menu to open the blog’s Settings menu. Click the check box next to the “Let People Submit Posts” option in the Submissions section. Type optional submission guidelines in the Submission Guidelines box. Check the check box for each type of post to allow, then click the “Save” button. Users can now create and submit posts to your approval queue from your blog’s Submit page.

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