--- title: "Custom Feeds & Starter Packs — Bluesky Growth Playbook" description: "Why discovery on Bluesky runs through feeds and starter packs, and how to use both as durable growth levers." canonical_url: "https://bolta.ai/university/courses/bluesky-growth-playbook/custom-feeds-and-starter-packs" markdown_url: "https://bolta.ai/university/courses/bluesky-growth-playbook/custom-feeds-and-starter-packs.md" last_updated: "2026-04-27" content_type: "feature" publisher: "Bolta" --- # Custom Feeds & Starter Packs — Bluesky Growth Playbook Source: https://bolta.ai/university/courses/bluesky-growth-playbook/custom-feeds-and-starter-packs Last updated: 2026-04-27 Why discovery on Bluesky runs through feeds and starter packs, and how to use both as durable growth levers. ## Summary Lesson from the Bolta University course "Bluesky Growth Playbook". The full lesson text follows. ## Who this is for - Founders - Creators - Marketing teams - Agencies ## Limitations and boundaries - Course material describes the product and the platforms at the time of writing; verify current behaviour in the app. - Social network features, limits, and algorithms change independently of Bolta. - Current prices and plan limits must be verified on the Bolta pricing page. ![Banner](/images/university/courses/bluesky-growth-playbook/3.png "Cover") ## Lesson 1: How Bluesky Discovery Actually Works The biggest mistake people make on Bluesky: assuming the home feed is the discovery surface. It isn't. ### The discovery layers 1. **Home feed (chronological from people you follow).** Mostly preaches to your existing followers. 2. **Custom feeds.** Curated streams of posts matching specific criteria — topic, hashtag, account list, language. Users subscribe to feeds. Your post appearing on a popular feed exposes you to that feed's audience. 3. **What's Hot / Discover feeds.** Default-ish feeds that show trending content network-wide. 4. **Starter packs.** Curated lists of accounts new users follow in one tap. 5. **Search.** Underrated. Bluesky's search is decent and growing. The growth-relevant layers are #2 and #4. Most "Bluesky doesn't have an algorithm" hot takes ignore that custom feeds *are* the algorithm — just user-controllable. ### Why this is good for you If you're posting in a specific niche, there's almost certainly a custom feed for that niche. Getting your posts onto that feed is structurally easier than catching a single global algorithm. You're playing many small games instead of one big one. ### What this changes about strategy 1. **Niche specificity wins.** Generic content fits no feed; niche content fits multiple feeds. 2. **Hashtags matter again.** Many feeds filter by hashtag. Hashtags on Bluesky aren't decoration — they're routing. 3. **Consistency beats virality.** Feeds reward steady contributors more than one-off viral posts. ## Lesson 2: Getting Onto Custom Feeds There's no "submit your post to feeds" button. Feed inclusion happens because you match a feed's criteria. ### The four ways feeds pick posts 1. **By account list.** Feed creators include specific accounts. To get on these, you need to be on the creator's radar. 2. **By keyword/hashtag.** Feed includes any post with a specific tag or keyword. Easiest to game; just include the tag. 3. **By language/region.** Feeds for specific languages or regions. 4. **By engagement threshold.** Feeds that show only posts above a certain engagement. ### How to systematically get onto more feeds 1. **Find feeds in your niche.** Search Bluesky for feed names matching your topic. Subscribe to them; observe who's on them. 2. **Use the right hashtags.** Not for vanity — for routing. Posts with #buildinpublic, #threads, #ai (or whatever fits) land on the corresponding feeds. 3. **Engage with feed curators.** Many feeds have a curator account. Follow them. Reply to them. Get on their radar. 4. **Make a feed yourself.** Curating a feed in your niche puts you in the position of being someone other creators want to be on the radar of. ### Hashtag use on Bluesky - Use 1-3 specific hashtags per post, not 10. - Use established niche hashtags (the ones already powering active feeds). - Don't use generic hashtags (#instagood-style ones don't work here). ## Lesson 3: Starter Packs as a Growth Lever Starter packs are curated lists of accounts that new Bluesky users follow in one tap. They're the most underrated growth lever on the platform. ### How starter packs work 1. Anyone can create a starter pack. 2. A starter pack contains up to ~150 accounts. 3. When a new user joins or onboards in a niche, they often follow a starter pack to get instant content. 4. Your inclusion in a popular starter pack drives a follower bump every time someone subscribes to that pack. ### How to get onto starter packs 1. **Be on the radar of pack curators.** Follow them, engage genuinely with their work, reply thoughtfully. 2. **Be a clear fit for the niche.** Vague positioning kills your starter-pack chances. Tight positioning (e.g., "indie SaaS founder building in public") gets you included. 3. **Have a track record.** New accounts rarely make it onto established packs. Post for 30+ days first. 4. **Reach out, sparingly.** A polite "I love your AI builders pack — would I be a fit?" is fine occasionally. Don't spam this. ### Make your own starter pack Curating a starter pack is one of the highest-leverage things you can do on Bluesky: 1. Pick a niche you care about. 2. Curate 50-100 accounts that fit. 3. Publish the pack. Share it. Update it. 4. As the pack gains subscribers, you become a node in the niche. You'll get noticed, included on others' packs, and treated as a curator — all of which compound. ### Common myths 1. *"Starter packs don't matter once you're past 1K followers."* They do — you keep getting steady follower growth from them long after the initial bump. 2. *"I can't get on starter packs without a network."* You don't need a network — you need to be a clear, valuable account in a specific niche. Curators look for those. 3. *"Hashtags are spammy."* On Bluesky, used right, they're routing infrastructure. ### Action Steps 1. Find 5 custom feeds in your niche. Subscribe to them. Note their inclusion criteria (hashtags, account lists, etc.). 2. Find 3 starter packs in your niche. Note who curates them. 3. In the next 30 days, do two things: (a) consistently use the routing hashtags so feed inclusion happens automatically, and (b) engage genuinely with at least 2 starter pack curators. Custom feeds and starter packs are the structural advantages Bluesky offers. Use them deliberately. Next lesson: writing posts that work in 300 characters. ## Relevant links - [Bolta University](https://bolta.ai/university) - [Bluesky Growth Playbook](https://bolta.ai/university/courses/bluesky-growth-playbook) - [Bolta pricing](https://bolta.ai/pricing)