369
9 min 1 sec

Designer Earns Extra $5,000/Month Posting Logos on Instagram

After first rejecting Instagram as being “only for selfies,” a Sri Lankan designer starts a popular account that earns steady affiliate commissions.
Affiliate Community Design International Social Media

Subscribe Now For A Free Five Step Tutorial

What It's About

When a designer discovers that Instagram is for more than selfies, he creates a new revenue stream.

Business Model
Social Media
Skills Required
Social Media & Content Creation
Complexity
Medium
Profit Potential
Medium

Words of Wisdom

While it wasn't an overnight success, the specificity and focus entirely on logos is why it’s so popular. I went to look at the account and for each post, he has not only thousands of likes but also lots of designers commenting on what they like and don’t like about each logo. So in an important way, he’s created a community. More than 500k followers!

Fun Fact

The Logo Inspirations Instagram account is how Jonathan has turned curating logos into a side hustle, but Jonathan didn’t always like the social media platform. In fact, he started off hating it because he never liked posting selfies.

Notes from Chris

Episode 369

For 29-year old Sri Lankan native Jonathan Rudolph, design has always been something that he was interested in. As a child, he loved sketching cartoon characters from comics like Batman and X-Men. The love for design was cultivated further as he watched his grandfather make beautiful handmade cards. That would inspire him to create and design beautiful things as he grew up.

For a while, Jonathan thought he could become a full-time freelancer and leave his day job. But the freelance work quickly dried up as he faced increasingly stiff competition. Upwork (back then it was Elance) had grown as a platform, and more designers were competing for a limited number of projects. Jonathan’s lowest point came when he was offered $175 for a logo project, and he accepted. That project would take him three weeks to complete.

Jonathan would get a better break that led to a highly profitable project in 2014. His wife had created an Instagram account under the name ‘The Graphic Illusionist’ and posted up some of his designs. He was initially skeptical. He hated Instagram because his wife usually used it to post couple selfies. However, the account got his attention when it started to gain more likes and followers than either of them had expected.

After exploring the platform more, Jonathan found that there were a number of design curated accounts with huge followings. However, there weren’t any dedicated to finding the best logos on the web. Having collected stamps and paper clippings of exotic cars as a child, Jonathan saw an opportunity. He decided to start curating the best logos by walking the streets and taking photos.

That’s the story behind how his new Instagram account, Logo Inspirations, was born. Posting consistently helped grow his Instagram account quickly. Jonathan would post a couple of logos he saw daily, and he’d maximize the reach of each post by using the appropriate hashtags. He had done his homework and discovered that even in the design space, there were some hashtags that simply had a wider reach than others. Within the first year, Jonathan would gain 100,000 followers.

Despite this large following though, it was only when he changed his tactics that Jonathan would find any real success—and turn his curation into a growing business. He was contacted by a company named LogoCore which offered affiliate commissions for every sale of their logo design program. At that point, the Logo Inspirations Instagram account had grown to 250,000 followers. Within a few days, Jonathan made $250, which blew his mind. With affiliate marketing, he didn’t have to pitch companies at all with affiliate marketing. He realized this was the revenue model he would pursue.

With a working model in place, he began to look more seriously at the project. He scheduled more posts on his Instagram account as well as on his blog. He joined affiliate programs by companies including Skillshare and Book Depository. The income he makes from affiliate marketing has now reached $1,000/week, and shows no sign of stopping as Jonathan continues to grow his platform. By the way, this revenue is close 100% profit, since there are very few expenses in this business.


MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SEE ALSO:

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

cg-sig-newsletter

Resources

GET $625 IN FREE TRAVEL

Earn 50,000 travel rewards points (enough for 2 round-trip plane tickets or $625 in travel credit). You'll also earn 2x points on all travel and dining spend, with zero foreign transaction fees.

I use this card every day all over the world! ✈️


Learn More

CREATE YOUR ONLINE STORE

Create your online store with Shopify using an exclusive discount for Side Hustle School listeners. For a limited time, get a free 21-day trial and a 10% discount for a whole year.

Many Side Hustle School listeners are building sites using Shopify's easy-to-learn platform. Try it free today!

Learn More

Quote of the Day
"In regards to making a successful side hustle, it’s all about mindset. The only thing that’s holding you back is the way you’re thinking. You have to focus, keep moving forward, and try different things."
—Jonathan Rudolph #SideHustleSchool

Sponsors & Gratitude

Learn More With Skillshare!

Supporting the sponsors keeps the show free. Today’s episode of Side Hustle School is brought to you by Skillshare. 📷

Skillshare is giving Side Hustle School listeners 2 months of unlimited access—for $0.99! Join the 2 million students learning everything from street photography to SEO on Skillshare today!


Get Started Here!

Like the Show? Leave a Rating!

Side Hustle School is for you! If you’re enjoying it, please take a quick moment to leave a rating or write a quick review. It's really easy and it makes a difference! ✅

It also makes a huge difference when you tell your friends about the show. Remember, it's 100% free and listener-supported.




Here's How

Keep in Touch

There’s a new story every single day on Side Hustle School. Episodes are produced to be short and to the point—I know you’re busy. Be sure you subscribe to get instant notification of the day’s broadcast!





To infinity and beyond,

Chris Guillebeau