The visual side of Substack

Do you need a main image on your posts? Should you use stock images, or create your own? If the latter, how? And why does any of it matter for writers?

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?