Since Bluesky opened up fully, it has gained over 6 million users, with over 1 million of them active every month. Yes, that’s right, you don’t need an invite code to sign up to Bluesky anymore. Yay!
However, open access means there’s an influx of new users who have no clue what to post to the fediverse platform. This is true of most new social platforms and also completely natural, especially as the platform hits the triple combination of: being fairly new with a small user base and still figuring out its identity.
Having spent a significant amount of time on Bluesky already, I curated a few content ideas and tips for anyone who’s new (or even experienced) with the platform to apply.
Introduce yourself
If you’re entirely new to Bluesky, nothing works better than a good ol’ “Hi, I’m new to Bluesky” post.
Blueskyers love a good intro, and since the platform's user base is still small compared to its counterparts, you have a better chance of your post being seen. Add some detail to your introduction — tell people who you are, where you’re from, and why you’re trying out Bluesky.
Even though you can’t expect the same level of engagement as its counterparts, you’ll find that the communities on Bluesky are very close-knit and receptive to new users.
Pro tip: Before introducing yourself, use the Sky Follower Bridge Chrome extension to find your followers from X/Twitter who also have a Bluesky account. They’ll likely engage with your content enthusiastically since they already know you.
Make sure you have a completed profile to create trust among these people that it’s really you. Don’t overthink it — use the same profile and display name as your other platforms.
Find relevant feeds and post the content that aligns with them
As the platform grows, so do the number of custom feeds specific to any niche you can think up.
What are custom feeds, you ask? Custom feeds are a brilliant way to sort different categories of Bluesky users (and their associated content). Bluesky says, “You can think of these feeds as super-powered hashtags or lists.”
The idea of the feeds is that whether you are really into anime or science or simply want to surface content from people who don’t appear on your feed often, you’ll find a feed that fits your needs.
Custom feeds have different ways you can appear on them. Some give you a specific combination of emojis to use, while others have a hashtag you need to append to your content. Check the custom feeds you identify for the rules and specifications.
Callout: To find custom feeds, tap the search button at the bottom of the Bluesky mobile app to see what’s available.
Repurpose content from your other platforms
If you’re posting to any other text-first social platforms, then you already have a wealth of content to use on Bluesky. Instead of thinking up new ideas for each platform, especially when you’re just starting out on a new platform, simply repost your content from X/Twitter, Threads, or LinkedIn to Bluesky.
It’ll save you a ton of time and will also be a crash course in learning which of your posts on those other platforms will or won’t work on the new platform.
Another great thing about Bluesky is that there’s no algorithm downranking external content. With a bit of context and a link, you’ll find that your writing, videos, or any other format you share outside of the platform will find its audience on Bluesky. It’s part of why journalists and authors love the platform so much. And while the engagement rate might not be as high as on other platforms, the conversations sparked by content are often quite thoughtful and extensive.
Weigh in on cultural conversations — or don’t
If you’ve been looking for a safe space to share your opinions and perspectives, Bluesky offers that in spades. There are any number of conversations about culture, politics, media, and whatever else, going on at any moment, especially because the platform tends to attract journalists and academics. And custom feeds mean that if you don’t want to participate in those conversations, you can fine-tune your experience to tune them out.
Post visual content
In my completely anecdotal experience, visual content tends to perform really well on Bluesky. Art and photography in my feed tend to get a lot of engagement, and art in general seems to be big in the custom feeds and hashtags.
This is great news for visual artists, photographers, illustrators, and so on. If you’ve been wanting more eyes on your art, Bluesky is an especially great platform. In fact, I’d say that the custom feeds make it even more likely that your content gets in front of the people who really want to see it.
Unfortunately, you can’t post video content to Bluesky — yet. It’s a small snag, but one hack is to turn a portion of your video to a GIF, since that’s an acceptable format.
Engage and boost others in your feed
While it can be tempting to focus on content that you can post and be done with, I recommend trying out a frequent cadence of asking for thoughts and opinions. It can be on any topic, but I find that people who are on Bluesky want to be there — they’ll answer your questions.
Don’t just post and ghost — engage with content. While this is true for any social media platform, it’s especially important on Bluesky. Put effort into engaging with people who reply to your content, especially if it’s feed-specific content.
If you’re not yet getting replies, visit the profiles of people whose content you enjoy, engage with their content by liking and reposting, and follow who they follow. Also, peek into their frequently-used hashtags – you’ll often find a wealth of content to inspire yours.
Use hashtags to discover what others in your niche are posting
Like its counterparts, Bluesky allows you to click on hashtags. You can sort the posts under a hashtag into Top and Latest. Top posts show you the content that people are engaging with most, while Latest shows the most recent results.
Personally, I tend to find a lot of inspiration from clicking into hashtags. For example, I’ve been enjoying using urban sketching as a form of unwinding and have found a lot of inspiration in the #urbansketching tag.
The best thing about Bluesky is there are no rules for Bluesky
You heard it hear first: there are no rules. Bluesky is still so new — you have the freedom to experiment and figure out what works for you.
To learn more about Bluesky, check out our articles:
How to Schedule Posts to Bluesky and Cross-post from Other Platforms
