Choosing the Perfect Tumblr Avatar

Published by Tumble Guy on February 24th, 2012 | themes

One of the ways to set yourself apart from other tumblr blogs is through your avatar.

Your Tumblr avatar is the small square portrait photo you see next to your posts on your dashboard.

(Here is an avatar tutorial if you haven’t uploaded one or want to change it.)

But why should anyone spend the time choosing the perfect avatar?

Unique Avatar = More Followers

Avatars are essential in building your reputation on Tumblr. In fact, it may even be the single most important factor if people will follow you or not.

In this post, I have categorized 3 unique ways of how you can choose a perfect avatar for your Tumblr and explain how each type could benefit you.

An eye-catching avatar that relates to your tumblr blog’s topic will attract more attention from users and eventually lead to more followers on Tumblr. For example, when your post comes up on a tumblr search, a person is more likely to check your Tumblr page if you have a great avatar next to your post.

3 Methods on how to choose your avatar

1. Portrait-Style:

The most common type of avatar on Tumblr is a portrait-style avatar. They’re simple to make, personalized, and a great representative of yourself. It’s great for service-oriented blog, strong personal brands, and works well for celebrity-oriented blogs.

Tips for portrait-style avatars:

Set the frame to show just the head and the shoulders
Select a photo that conveys a friendly image
Be memorable and creative

2. Logo-type

If you are using Tumblr as a part of your branding, then using your logo as your avatar is the best option. It could easily be recognizable by your customers.

Tips for logo avatars:

Make sure that your avatar is consistent with the rest of your brand.
Don’t cram every bit of information in your avatar.
Choose one-letter or one-icon logos. They works best.

3. Theme-based

These are the types of avatars that represent what your topic is–literally or figuratively. If you’ve chosen a unique and memorable name, theme-based avatar accentuates your name and ultimately making your tumblr more memorable.

Tips for theme-based avatars:

Make sure your chosen avatar relates to your chosen name and topic
Select one that is easily identifiable even at small sizes
Choose high quality images since it’s seen at larger sizes

Additional Tumblr Avatar Tips

Make your Avatar square and in the correct format.

Your avatar on tumblr is viewed in either one of the sizes below, ranging from as big as 128×128 pixels to as small as 16×16 pixels. People who don’t follow you see your avatar in two sizes: 64×64 and 40×40 pixels so make sure your avatars are recognizable in these two sizes.

Promote your Avatar.

Why would you feature your avatar when other will already see them when you post? If you’ve chosen a unique avatar, It’s great to make a post about it, or even create a separate for it. You can write about how you chose that avatar and what it means. Doing this adds value to your tumblr as a whole and makes you more memorable

Do not Change your Avatar too often.

Remember, someone followed you because they liked your avatar and your content. When they see your posts on the dashboard, they associate those content to the avatar and name next to it.

If you change your avatar too often, you may lose that connection and have to rebuild your reputation from scratch.

Tags: themes

About the Author

Tumble Guy Tumble Guy is the chief-monster-editor and founder of Tumbtips. He writes killer tutorials for Tumblr, provides great tips for budding Tumblr superstars, and thinks you should like Tumbtips Facebook page and follow them on Tumblr.