What Are Substack Profile Banners (and why you need one)?

We are a mother-and-son illustration team. Our drawings are hand-drawn and traced in the computer. Our goal is to help Substackers illustrate their publications with fun and simple drawings. We’re trying to restore the human creativity that is being lost from the progression of technology and AI.

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I’ve seen it over and over again.

A cool note pops into my feed. Interested in finding out more about the creator, I visit their profile.

I read their bio. I look at their banner.

After spending a moment on the profile, I have no idea what they are writing about. I have no idea what they’re offering that could be of interest.

Since their profile isn’t clear or enticing, then I’m not subscribing.

Others probably have chosen not to subscribe for the same reason. 😢

Your profile is a first impression. It’s super important that your profile is optimized for converting visitors to subscribers and viewers to followers.

Optimizing Your Substack Profile

How can your profile visitors understand what you are providing for them?

Let’s start with your bio.

Your bio should be short and clear. Describe what you offer or write about. Include some personal details if you like.

Say something unique. Show them your point of view. Communicate a relatable idea.

Once your bio is written, you’ll need to add a profile cover.

Profile Covers

If you didn’t already know, Substack allows you to add a cover to your profile. This image acts as a banner. It’s a great place to communicate what you provide clearly and visually.

Many creators overlook this feature. That’s a bad idea.

Visuals are processed 6x-600x faster in the brain than text, making a good profile cover/banner crucial.

Make sure that your banner gives the right message to new visitors.

What Makes a Good Banner?

Since your Substack profile acts as a first impression, every detail matters.

The wording, fonts, colors, and illustrations.

Your banner needs to stand out among millions of other creators.

The 2 most important things to consider when creating a banner are the message and illustrations (or other visuals).

The Message

First, a clear message.

A line of text that tells potential subscribers what they will gain from you.

On my banner, my line of text is “Catch More Attention with Simple Illustrations.”

It says exactly what I’m creating and why it helps you, the viewer.

Quick, short, and clear.

My mom’s (Amy) banner says, “Drawing Friendly Illustrations… bringing attention to your publication.”

Try using these simple frameworks:

[Achieve action/goal] with [what I create/provide]

[What I’m doing] + [how it helps you]

There are countless other ways to communicate your offer.

What do other creators in your niche do? 🤔 Find out, and adapt it for yourself. Be sure to make it personal and unique to you.

Examine profiles and their tactics, good or bad. This will help you navigate how yours can be improved.

Illustrations

Illustrations are a great way to visually communicate ideas. They add so much to the design.

To complement my text, I added an illustration of a dog catching a Frisbee.

This illustration communicates the idea of “catching something” in a fun and engaging way. 🐶

Hand-drawn doodle art is in a class by itself. Incorporating it will make your banner more memorable.

My mom has an illustration of a puppy playing with paints. This conveys the idea of art and creativity.

Call to Action

It might be a good idea to add a CTA to your banner.

Something like “Subscribe to [get direct benefit of subscribing]”

Professional vs. Personal

I’ve seen plenty of people on Substack using corporate-looking banners. Likely the design was adapted from their LinkedIn banner.

For some, this type of design will do the job.

On LinkedIn, corporate banners may work great. But for Substack, having a more personal banner that feels like you and your writing may be more fitting.

You should consider what vibe you want to give. Corporate? Expert? Creative? Simple? Modern? Classic? Friendly?

Using illustrations does not make your design unprofessional.

How serious or professional a design is depends on the execution of fonts, colors, and other design elements, including the illustrations.

Adding hand-drawn art shows there is a person behind the banner, not a bot.

People want to subscribe to people.

So what’s your next step?

Hand-Drawn Illustrated Substack Banners

If you're looking to optimize your profile for new visitors, we have a service for just that!

We’ll create a banner that implements everything I’ve talked about.

With a well-designed banner, your profile will be clearer and more enticing.

Whatever you used before… an AI-generated image, a stock photo, or a Canva template design.

Ditch it.

Your Substack profile is your first impression. Make it worthwhile.

Our goal is to take your profile from UN-original to UN-forgettable. Convert that plain ol’ profile to one that people actually want to engage with.

Don’t wait to make this improvement. Don’t miss out on another subscriber.

Let us work with you to create something great!

Do you have any questions? Ask them in the comments.