Bluesky Monetization Guide: How Creators Can Make Money
Bluesky’s mission to brighten up the social media landscape is in full swing, with many creators now making the switch from other microblogging platforms. Whether this is you, or you’re simply adding this latest channel to your social media repertoire, you may have found yourself wondering how to make money on Bluesky.
Can you make money on Bluesky? The short answer is a resounding yes. But the method is different. It relies less on platform-controlled ad revenue and more on the creator’s ingenuity, community building, and the unique structure of the network itself. Bluesky monetization is all about maximizing your content and taking advantage of the platform’s community-focused custom algorithms. So now it’s your turn to get a piece of the action. In this guide, we’ll break down the different ways to make money on Bluesky, helping you choose the right option for your content, audience, and goals. We’ll also show you how using Metricool, an authorized Bluesky tool, will save you time and boost your earnings.
Bluesky Monetization: No Native Model (Yet)
At the time of writing, Bluesky does not have built-in, native monetization tools for individual users. This means:
- No Ad Revenue Sharing: Unlike some other social platforms, Bluesky Social doesn’t currently pay creators based on the performance of in-feed ads. The platform is famously resistant to the traditional ad model, prioritizing a cleaner, ad-free experience.
- No Creator Funds: There are no official creator funds or in-app payment systems like tipping or paid badges directly controlled by the platform for user content.
- No Paid Subscriptions (for creators, yet): While Bluesky has confirmed plans for subscriptions and other paid features as its own business model, these are not yet released for creators to monetize their individual accounts directly through the app.
This absence forces a return to fundamentals: building genuine value and connection. The real power of Bluesky creator monetization lies in the protocol’s architecture and the quality of the audience you build.
The company’s CEO, Jay Graber, has emphasized that Bluesky will not automatically downgrade links. This is an enormous benefit. Posting a link to your external revenue source, whether it’s a Patreon, a Substack newsletter, or an e-commerce store, will not be penalized by a centralized algorithm, leading to better click-through and subscription rates for those who visit your profile and content.
How to Make Money on Bluesky: 3 Surefire Strategies
Plans for native Bluesky monetization tools are on the way. In the meantime, the most effective strategies today focus on routing your engaged Bluesky audience to off-platform sources of income.
1. Use Your Profile as a Funnel to External Income
Your Bluesky profile is your storefront. Every successful monetization effort starts with a clear, concise path for your audience to convert.
Leveraging Link in Bio
The link in your profile bio is a hugely important component for immediate monetization. Do not waste it. Instead of linking to a general website homepage, link directly to your best conversion point:
- Paid Newsletter: Link to your Substack, Beehiiv, or Ghost signup page. The value of your posts on Bluesky is the “free sample,” and the newsletter is the premium product.
- Direct Support Platforms: Use tools like Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, or Liberapay. These are free to set up and allow for one-time or recurring payments from supporters. Ensure your bio mentions what the donations support, e.g., “Help fund my weekly research threads: [Link].”
- Product or Service Landing Page: If you sell software, a digital course, or a physical product, link directly to the highest-converting sales page.
Can’t decide which conversion point to send your followers to? Got multiple conversion points for different needs? Metricool’s Smartlinks gives you a customizable page where you can you share as many links as you wish via your bio. Use the button below to create your FREE Metricool account and start using SmartLinks today.
Content Funnels for Conversion
Every post should be considered part of a conversion funnel, even if subtly.
- Value First, CTA Second: Provide immense value in a thread or a series of posts. Finish with a soft call to action that directs to the link in your bio. For example: “If you found this thread on social analytics helpful, my premium guide with three exclusive templates is available in the link on my profile.”
- Pinning Your Best Work: Pin a post or thread that has performed exceptionally well and contains a clear reference to your offering. This ensures new profile visitors immediately see your expertise and your monetization path.
2. Affiliate Marketing and Product Promotion
Affiliate marketing thrives on authenticity and trust, two qualities that are highly valued on Bluesky’s community-driven platform.
Authentic Affiliate Linking
Bluesky users are wary of hard sells and overly commercial content. Success here relies on transparency and relevance.
- Niche Relevance: Only promote products or services that genuinely align with your specialized content niche. If you post about productivity, promote a specific software tool you actually use.
- Tutorials and Reviews: Create content that provides real value, such as a mini-review or a step-by-step guide on how to use an affiliate product. This establishes you as an authority rather than just a salesperson.
- Transparency is Key: Always disclose your affiliate relationship clearly. A simple “This is an affiliate link” or a hashtag like #ad maintains the trust that is the bedrock of your audience.
E-commerce and Direct Sales
If you have your own products, Bluesky can act as a powerful traffic source.
- Behind the Scenes Content: Post content about the creation of your products or services. This humanizes your business and builds connection. Show your process for designing a product, writing a book, or coding a new feature.
- Early Access Offers: Use your posts to announce limited-time early access or special discounts for your Bluesky followers, making them feel like a valued inner circle.
- Link Clicks and Traffic: Remember, Bluesky does not suppress external links. This means a post promoting your new t-shirt design or consulting service is much more likely to drive clicks to your external shop (Shopify, Etsy, etc.) than on more restrictive platforms.
3. Sponsorships and Brand Partnerships
Though the platform doesn’t have native ad features, brands and businesses are looking for ways to reach Bluesky’s engaged, niche communities. This opens the door for direct creator-brand collaborations.
The Value of Niche Authority
On Bluesky, the quality of your community and your authority in a specific Custom Feed is more important than follower count.
- Identify Your Niche Feeds: Monetize your presence in niche feeds. If you are a prominent voice in the “ScienceFeed” or “MarketingTips” feed, a brand relevant to that area will value a sponsored post from you far more than a post on a general feed.
- Sell Your Audience Quality: When pitching to brands, focus less on follower numbers and more on engagement rate, click-through success to external links, and the specific, high-intent audience you’ve cultivated.
- Types of Sponsored Content:
- Sponsored Posts/Threads: A single post or an informative thread where the brand’s product is integrated naturally.
- Account Takeovers: A short-term agreement where you “host” a brand’s account or allow a brand to create a specific post series on your account, clearly marked as a sponsorship.
The Future of Bluesky Creator Monetization
Bluesky’s roadmap includes plans to introduce platform-controlled paid services. While timing and final details may change, the announced plans give creators an idea of where the platform is headed.
Subscriptions and Premium Features
Bluesky has confirmed that subscriptions are coming. These will allow users to support their favorite creators or unlock exclusive content. This will give creators a direct way to make money on Bluesky with a built-in feature.
Expected Subscription Tiers and Offerings
Creators will likely be able to offer tiered subscriptions, similar to other creator-focused platforms. To prepare, think about what you can offer that is genuinely exclusive:
- Early Access: Give subscribers a 24-hour head start on your most valuable content, research threads, or product launches.
- Exclusive Materials: Offer downloadable files, templates, research, or unreleased segments of a longer work (e.g., a chapter of a book).
- Private Q and A Sessions: Host occasional private discussions or Q and A posts only visible to subscribers. This is a direct reward for loyalty and deepens the community bond.
- Exclusive Custom Feeds: Create and manage a private, subscriber-only Custom Feed containing curated content and discussion specific to the premium offering.
The Role of Custom Feeds in Monetization
Custom Feeds are a unique structural feature of Bluesky that offers a path to revenue that most centralized platforms cannot match. A Custom Feed is a user-created timeline that curates posts based on a defined set of rules, creating specialized, highly engaged communities.
Selling and Sponsoring Feeds
- Paid Feeds: The platform’s open protocol may one day allow developers to create apps that offer paid access to specific, high-value Custom Feeds. For example, a “Stock Market Signals Feed” could be a premium, paid product. Creators can position themselves as the trusted curator of this feed.
- Feed Sponsorship: A business may be willing to pay you to have their name or branding prominently displayed on a highly popular, niche Custom Feed that you manage. For example, a coding bootcamp sponsoring a “Best of Python Code” feed. The value is in the highly targeted audience of that specific feed.
- Driving Traffic from Feeds: Curate a popular, free feed, and then use your own content within that feed to direct users to your paid, off-platform product. This is a subtle yet powerful form of advertising that your audience actually opted into by following the feed.
The Core Principles of Bluesky Monetization Success
Regardless of which strategy you use, success on Bluesky comes down to a few fundamental, non-negotiable principles.
Prioritize Community Over Scale
On Bluesky, high-quality, niche engagement is a much better currency than massive, general follower counts. The community-focused nature of the platform means a small but intensely loyal following is more valuable for monetization than a large, passive one.
Building Genuine Connection
- Authentic Engagement: Respond to comments personally. Ask genuine questions. Acknowledge and credit community contributions. This is how you foster a loyal audience that is happy to support you financially.
- Be a Thought Leader, Not a Loudspeaker: Post informative, well-researched, or genuinely insightful content that sparks thoughtful conversation. This establishes you as an authority worth paying attention to.
- Custom Feeds for Audience Research: Use the visibility you get in Custom Feeds to understand the precise language, pain points, and interests of your target audience. Use this insight to refine your paid product or service.
Content that Drives Conversions
Your free content on Bluesky must be so valuable that your audience feels compelled to pay for the next level of access or utility.
Creating the Value Ladder
- Free (Bluesky Posts): Informational threads, hot takes, industry commentary, research summaries, and community-building posts. This builds trust and demonstrates expertise.
- Low-Tier Paid (Affiliate/Tipping): A one-time tip or a low-cost digital product. A small financial ask to move them from a casual follower to a customer.
- High-Tier Paid (Subscriptions/Courses): Premium, recurring content like a paid newsletter, a full online course, or high-touch consulting services. This is where the core of your recurring Bluesky monetization revenue will come from.
Strategic Use of the Open Protocol (AT Protocol)
Bluesky is built on the AT Protocol, a decentralized foundation that allows developers to build custom applications and tools that interact with the main Bluesky application.
Creating AT Protocol Applications
The ultimate form of Bluesky creator monetization is to build a utility that the community will pay for. This could be:
- Analytics Tools: A third-party tool that gives users better analytics on their post performance within specific Custom Feeds. (We see real-world examples of early adopters monetizing this.)
- Moderation Services: Tools that help manage block lists, filters, or content curation for individuals or brands.
- Custom Clients: A specialized version of the Bluesky app interface tailored for a specific niche, such as a “Pro Trader Client” or an “Academic Research Client,” which could be a subscription product.
This approach requires development skills or a willingness to partner with developers, but it encourages you to create a platform-adjacent product that the highly technical and creative Bluesky community is willing to pay for.
Bluesky Community Guidelines
One of the most important things to keep in mind as a creator on Bluesky is the platform’s community guidelines. Bluesky is not a lawless microblogging platform like some others have become, so following the guidelines is vital for creators who wish to make the most of Bluesky’s monetization features. These guidelines are based on Bluesky’s 4 key principles: Safety first, respect others, be authentic, and follow the rules (laws).
Bluesky X Metricool: Your Monetization Mimosa
Mimosas are one of my favourite drinks. Orange juice is great on its own, but the bubbles make it better. Here are some of the ways using Metricool (champagne) with Bluesky (orange juice) will improve your experience and help you make money on the platform:
- Content scheduling with best times to post: Schedule content months in advance and find out the most effective posting times based on your followers’ activity.
- SmartLinks: Add as many links-in-bio as you need to drive conversions.
- Canva, Google Drive & Adobe Integrations: Easy access to higher converting graphic content from inside our tool
- Multi-platform management: Save time and improve your brand’s social media synergy by managing all of your platforms from one place.
… and much more! Sign up with the button below and start making money on Bluesky.
