This post is Part 1 of how to create video covers for Substack. Part 2 is now live: The 3-Prompt Cover Animation System
TL;DR: Video covers on Substack get roughly 2x more views than static ones — and there's a simple workaround to make it happen, even though Substack technically doesn't support video thumbnails. This post walks you through the exact process: converting video to GIF, setting it as your cover, and using AI to write the video prompt so you don't have to guess at cinematography.
Videos are coming to Substack. You can feel it in the air.
They’re already getting more visibility, and they’re clearly going to play a bigger role going forward.
I recently wrote a post with Timo Mason🤠 about how to ace faceless video content creation on Substack, for those of us who don’t want to perform for a camera or worry about our hair. One of the tips I shared was simple: use videos as covers for your posts.
So over the past two months, I ran a small experiment on my own Substack. Posts where I used video-style covers got roughly 2x the views compared to my average posts.
Now, before we get too excited, this is not a scientific study. Substack distribution depends on a lot of things: topic, timing, notes, and luck. But the difference was consistent enough that it made me curious.
Because the strange part is Substack doesn’t actually support video covers. If you’ve tried to set a video thumbnail or cover image for a Substack post, you’ve probably hit the same wall I did.
Which means the covers that performed better were technically… a workaround.
If you’re trying to set a video as a thumbnail or cover image on Substack, this post gives you the full breakdown on how to do it.
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What you’ll learn from today’s post:
Substack does not support video files as cover images or thumbnails, but there is a workaround.
The exact settings you need to make on your post to have a video cover.
Detailed explainer how to create a video cover from an image with AI.
Why using a video-style cover on Substack is a good idea
Having spent 8 years creating social media content for the biggest brands, I see from the numbers how motion changes behaviour. But what does that mean for newsletters?
Data shows that animated motion contents consistently outperform static images on social platforms, Google and even in email environments:
Up to 26% higher click-through rates for emails using animated GIFs, says DBLSPC.
Using dynamic content for personalized email marketing campaigns raises ROI by 258% according to EmailMonday.
By adding the term “video” to your email text and title, the open rate may increase by 18% (BreadnBeyond)
In other words, motion tends to attract attention.
So I became curious whether something similar might happen on Substack.
What I observed in my own posts
Over the past two months I noticed a small but interesting pattern in my Substack analytics. Posts where I used video-style covers consistently performed significantly better than my typical posts.
Here’s what the numbers looked like:
post views ~2x lift
engagement ~2–3x lift
open rate +4-8 percentage points
Interestingly, the posts with video covers didn’t just get more views. They also attracted more conversation. One of them pulled nearly 60 comments, which is unusually high relative to its views.
It’s not a perfect experiment, but the pattern repeated enough times to make me lean forward.
Can you set a video as a thumbnail on Substack?
Technically no. Substack does not allow video files (MP4, MOV, etc.) to be used as cover images or thumbnails.
Even if:
you embed a video in your post
the video sits at the very top
the first frame looks perfect
You still cannot select that video as the thumbnail. Substack only supports images and GIFs as cover images.
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The workaround: turn your video into a GIF
This is the simplest and most reliable way to get a video-style cover on Substack.
Substack supports GIF files as cover images. And GIFs behave like short looping videos.
How to do it
Take a short video clip (5–10 seconds works best)
Convert it from MP4 to GIF
Upload the GIF as your cover image in Social Preview
I used EZgif.com to convert my MP4 to GIF. But if you’re working with Canva, you have an opportunity to export in GIF right away.
Once uploaded:
the GIF appears as your thumbnail
it loops like a video
it works everywhere Substack displays a cover image
You’ll get a moving, video-style cover without Substack actually supporting video covers.
Your Substack cover image is also used across your Substack website. That means the same GIF appears on your homepage, post listings, and archive views. Instead of a fully static site, you get a subtle moving element built in, without custom code or embeds. It’s a low-effort way to make posts stand out visually and make the site feel more alive.
Where Substack actually controls thumbnails: Social Preview
Setting a video cover is actually quite simple, though not intuitive. I needed to do some digging to figure it out.
After writing your post:
Click Settings in the bottom-right corner of the editor
Open Social Preview
You’ll see the thumbnail Substack will use for email and social sharing
A few important details and options how to approach this:
You cannot select an embedded video to set it as a cover.
If your post contains only a video and no images, Substack won’t let you use it as a cover.
You can select a GIF embedded in your post.
Or you can upload a GIF as a cover without actually embedding it in your post.
What happens to your GIF cover in email?
Interesting, but about 33% of email clients cannot play embedded videos. Gmail, which controls the majority of the webmail market with a 40% market share, cannot play them and neither can Outlook (23%) nor Yahoo (21%). But they do support GIFs.
When your Substack post is sent via email:
Most modern email clients (Gmail, Apple Mail, mobile) display and animate GIFs
Some older desktop versions of Outlook show only the first frame as a static image
This does not affect deliverability or sending.
Best practice: Design your GIF so the first frame works as a strong static cover, just in case.
How I Create Video Covers With AI
The first time I started animating, I used what I already had: my static covers. Below is the exact process I use.
The prompt used in this post is of course available in the AI Meets Girlboss Prompt Vault for my paid subscribers. 35 branding prompts and counting.