Welcome messages that actually feel personal

When someone follows you back on Bluesky, that’s a real moment. They noticed you, they liked what they saw, and they said yes.

A generic “Hey, thanks for the follow!” doesn’t quite match that energy.

Welcome DMs now support personalization — so every message feels like it was written just for them.

Before and after

Here’s what a generic welcome message looks like:

Now here’s what it looks like with personalization:

When alice.bsky.social follows you back, that’s exactly what she sees in her inbox — a message that feels like it was written just for her, not copy-pasted from a template.

Two simple variables

Drop these into your welcome message and they’ll be replaced with the real thing:

• {{first_name}} — the first part of their handle (e.g., “alice” from “alice.bsky.social”)
• {{handle}} — their full handle (e.g., “alice.bsky.social”)

That’s it. No complex setup, no profile lookups, no extra steps.

More examples

Use both variables in the same message, or just one — whatever feels right:

The variables work silently. If someone’s handle doesn’t have a clear first name (like a brand or team account), it just fills in what it can. No broken text, no weird errors.

Why this matters

First impressions count. A personalized welcome message signals that you actually see the person behind the follow — not just another number.

People who feel welcomed are more likely to stick around, interact with your posts, and become part of your community.

How to set it up

1. Open your workflow
2. Find the Welcome DM section
3. Write your message and add {{first_name}} or {{handle}} wherever you want
4. Save — that’s it

The tip under the message box reminds you which variables are available, so you don’t need to memorize anything.

Availability

Personalized welcome DMs are available on the Pro plan. If you’re on Starter or Trial, upgrade to unlock this along with everything else BlueOrbit offers.