Substack is a clever platform. It has the algorithm of a social media website, like Instagram, sending new readers your way, but those who like your writing can subscribe, which means you’re growing a mailing list rather than just a following.

(One you can download at any time and take elsewhere.)

An online following, or community, helps us to get our wor…

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In fact, I have enough ideas and I write fast enough to publish an essay on Substack every si…

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We are here, on Substack, because we write. Why, then, do we need to think about the visual side of Substack? And is there a way to make it feel fun and creative, rather than like an admin task once you’ve done the bit you love (the writing)?

There are two in-roads to your Substack.

1. People who subscribe to your Substack and have their notifications set so that they receive your posts by email, in their inbox.

2. People who read your essays in the Substack app, or on the website - sometimes via a social media link - and don’t have them land in their inbox.

For the first group, what’s initially most important is the subject line. If it’s boring, they won’t open the email and so neither your writing nor the images you use will matter. Therefore, it’s subject line first, everything else next.

But for the second group, there is no subject line. The header (same as the subject line, on Substack) still matters but it matters alongside the image. The two work together, much like a newspaper header and the main image accompanying it.

According to Google AI, images are processed up to 60,000 times faster than text. So, a powerful image will draw your reader in, and hold them there, much quicker than a headline.

In terms of the readers who get your Substack essays in their inbox, the subject line might get them to open the email but a good image, at the top of the essay, could encourage them to read through the email. Images can hold a lot of meaning.

So, how do you go about creating images for your Substack essays? Is it ok to use free stock images? Can you create your own if you’re not a visual artist? What are the best websites/apps to help with this?

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Before my first session with a new coaching client, I send over a set of questions asking what they’d like support with. I love receiving their responses, always full of ideas and ambition and excitement. But I’ve also been noticing a pattern.

Almost everyone who signs up for coaching with me wants to start a Substack. Or, they’ve started one and want to…

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