Blue Skies in 3 easy steps...

The IADR is now on Bluesky social media app!  What is Bluesky?  It's hot!  It's trending and growing by leaps and bounds.

Created by the same person that created the original Twitter social media, this is a new platform that now has over 20M (million) people!! 🎉

I am still learning all the fun features to Bluesky myself, but there is a sense of positive outreach and community to this platform.  To make this easier to understand - Bluesky is similar to Instagram that you can post to the stream of posts that creates the timeline.  Then build a community of followers that will help your post be seen by either commenting on it, reposting it on their timeline, or simply leaving a like to it.  The nice thing to Bluesky is that it works with #hashtags to help you be found in searches.  Bluesky also allows outside links to your product in your post!  That means a higher rate of people clicking on it and going to where they can learn more about your artwork instantly instead of having to look to other places (like your bio for example) for that information.  Or simply loosing them because they could never find it.

So, how do you find the IADR on Bluesky?  Here are the 3 easy steps to do just that.

1.  Download the Bluesky app which has the butterfly logo on it (see image above).  Then create your account.

2. Create your profile image and a banner.  My banner on my business Bluesky account was roughly 1000 by 500 pixel.  For the IADR banner I had to shrink the logo within that same space in order to get it to look the way I wanted it too.  (We are already getting the word out about our 2025 IADR Art Doll Convention and have 3 followers).

3.  Start building your community with going to the search option on the left hand side of the screen inside of your Bluesky account.  Type in #iadregistry and you will find our account.  Start following the IADR and we will follow you back.  Use the hashtag - #iadregistry when posting your posts.  (I am guessing on this part -- but it should work.)  When you use the IADR hashtag when creating your post, then I should be able to do a search for anyone using it.  When I find one of our IADR members using it I will then like the post, repost it on the IADR timeline, and comment.  This will boost your post back up the stream on the timeline as we build our community.

Helpful Hint:  As I said, posting to Bluesky is like jumping into a stream of flowing water.  When you repost other people's post on to your timeline (which should be things you like or supporting other artists), then your own post gets lost.  The helpful hint is PIN your post.  When you create a post and post it to your timeline, go to the post and at the bottom of it - to the right should be three little grey dots.  Click on them and a list of options should pop up for you.  The first option should be is to PIN your post to your timeline.  That way that post will be the first post anyone sees that comes to your page.  So, as you help build your community of followers by being seen with reposting their posts on your timeline or simply sharing those things you enjoy --your PIN post will always be there.  When you want to update it or change it out, you can unpin it and pin a new one.  It also seems you can pin several posts to your timeline.  I'll be doing more research into that and also planning on a more in-depth look at this new platform with an article about it in the January 2025 IADR Art Doll magazine.

And as always, if you have any questions about Bluesky or the IADR then drop me an email at [email protected].