Chat images for podcasts and newsletters
A small chat image can carry the point of an episode or a section of a newsletter. Keep it short, describe it in alt text and label it as an illustration.
Try it: start from this sample
Can we start with the budget mistake?
Always. It is the best story.
Fine, but I am blaming the spreadsheet.
Pick one line worth illustrating
Take the single moment that sums up your episode or article and imagine it as a text exchange. It might be a question the guest was asked, a tension between two views, or a funny aside. Do not transcribe the episode. A cover or inline image only needs enough to make a reader curious about the rest. The sample sketches a podcast opening in three bubbles. Yours could be three bubbles about the topic of the week.
If you publish weekly, build a small template: same look, same two fictional speakers, same position in the layout. Regulars will start to recognise the image as yours, and you will save time on every issue after the first.
Keep the words short and the file small
Newsletter widths are narrow, so long bubbles turn into grey blocks. Two or three short messages are plenty. Export a PNG and check it at the width of your email or site template before you send. If your newsletter tool resizes images, test the preview once.
Alt text and labels
Describe the image for readers who cannot see it: who is speaking and what they say, in one or two sentences. Do not put the only copy of key information inside the picture. Add a caption such as Illustration, not a real message exchange, and use invented speakers instead of your real guests or listeners. If you do quote a real guest, use their actual words with their consent, not a made-up chat.
Tips
- Write the alt text as soon as the chat is final.
- Use the same look for every episode so the series feels connected.
- Avoid putting a guest's name on invented words.
- Crop tightly so the bubbles fill the width of the column.
- Check the contrast in the dark mode that many readers use.
Questions
Do I need to credit ChatsRat?
Free exports carry a visible ChatsRat watermark. Paid plans change the visible watermark, and the plans page lists how. Every export also has an invisible mark readable on the verify page.
What size should the image be?
Export the biggest PNG your plan offers and resize it in your publishing tool. Free exports are 720p, and Standard goes to 1080p.
Can I use a guest's real words?
Only if they agree and you use what they actually said. Otherwise write an invented exchange and label it as an illustration.
Does the image need a label?
If readers might take it for a real conversation, say it is an illustration. A short caption does the job and also helps readers using screen readers.
Use it for simulated, labelled content. ChatsRat makes mock-ups and fictional conversations for creators, designers and teachers. Do not use it to pass off a made-up conversation as a real one, to impersonate a real person, or as proof of anything. See the Acceptable Use policy.
About the watermark. Exports on the Free plan carry a visible ChatsRat watermark, and every export carries an invisible mark that the verify page can read. Plans list what changes on paid plans.
ChatsRat is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any messaging app. App names on this page describe a style only.