From Hobby to Hustle: 10 Laser Engraving Ideas to Make $1,000 on Etsy in 2025

Starting an Etsy shop can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re new to selling handmade items or using a laser engraver. But with the right strategy and tools, like a CO2 Laser Cutter, turning your hobby into a meaningful side hustle and making your first $1,000 on Etsy is not just achievable — it’s closer than you think!

Whether you’ve already started a maker business and want to grow, or you’re just getting started, this guide will show you 10 hidden laser engraving product gems you can sell on Etsy (+ 5 bonus pro-marketing strategies) to reach that milestone. Let’s dive in. 

10 Hidden Product Gems to Help You Earn Your First $1,000 on Etsy with a Laser Engraver

Laser Engraved Custom Wedding Products

1. Custom Elopement Accessories: Tap into the growing trend of intimate weddings by creating laser-engraved vow books, passport covers, or elopement announcement signs. These products appeal to couples looking for personalized, small-scale wedding details and can sell for $25 - $100 each.
2. Wedding Favor Kits: Offer bulk sets of laser-cut DIY favor boxes or tags. Couples can assemble and personalize them at home, saving money while giving their wedding a handmade touch. These kits can be priced at $30 - $75 depending on quantity. 
   
3. Engraved Proposal Gifts: Create unique items for bridal party proposals, like personalized wooden boxes with engraved messages or keepsakes. These are often priced between $20 - $50 each. 

Laser Engraved Personalized Gifts

4. Custom Nightlights: Design acrylic nightlights with engraved names or designs, such as favorite characters or themes. These make excellent gifts for kids or new homeowners and can sell for $35 - $75 each.
   
5. Family Growth Charts: Laser-engraved wooden growth charts personalized with family names or designs can become heirloom-quality pieces. These sell for $80 - $150 and appeal to families seeking functional decor. 
6. Memory Keepsake Ornaments: Offer ornaments that commemorate milestones, like "First Christmas as Mr. and Mrs." or "Baby’s First Christmas." These sentimental items are easy to produce and can sell for $15 - $40.
   

Laser Engraved Pet Accessories

7. Custom Feeding Mats: Create laser-engraved wood or acrylic feeding mats with pet names and playful designs. These functional yet stylish products appeal to pet owners and can sell for $30 - $60. 
8. Pet-Themed Holiday Decor: Offer pet-centric holiday items like engraved stockings, ornaments, or photo frames. Highlight the personalization aspect to make them memorable gifts priced at $20 - $50. 

Laser Engraved Home Decor

9. Laser-Cut Plant Stands or Markers: Cater to plant enthusiasts with custom-designed wooden or acrylic plant stands and markers. These items are trendy, easy to ship, and can sell for $15 - $40 each.
   
10. Custom Door Signs: Create engraved door signs for offices, nurseries, or homes. Combine functionality with aesthetics by offering customizable options, selling for $50 - $100 depending on complexity.
    

The ideas we shared above can be applied to other markets and niches, and are not exclusive to the industries we associated them with.

For example a jewelry designer can offer custom jewelry holders cut out of acrylic, sell engraved jewelry, and also sell the pattern for the jewelry holders to other laser engraving businesses as a way to maximize their profits from just two products. Custom feeding mats can transform into custom standing pads for a fathers workshop and wedding favor kits can be birthday favor kits, baby shower kits and more. 

5 Bonus Pro-Marketing Ideas To Supercharge Your Laser Engraving Etsy Store 

1. Customizations + Bundles
   No matter the product range you offer, at least some products can be customized with names, monograms or unique patterns. This will allow you to have add ons that customers can add to basic products to increase your average order value. Offering gift sets, like a pet feeding mat bundled with a matching treat jar, also encourage higher cart values.  
   
2. Sustainable Offerings
   Eco-conscious buyers are a growing demographic. Use your laser engraver to produce items from sustainable materials like bamboo, recycled wood, or cork. Promote your process by sharing how your laser engraving business reduces waste compared to traditional manufacturing methods. 
3. Limited-Edition Drops
   Introduce exclusivity into your shop by creating limited-edition collections. Whether tied to holidays, seasons, or collaborations, these products create urgency and encourage repeat customers. 
4. Sell Digital Laser Cut Files
   Selling laser cut and engraving files is also a popular and lucrative method for making money with a laser engraver. By selling digital files of designs, you can tap into a growing market of hobbyists, artists, makers who are interested in using lasers to create their own unique products. 
5. Offer Subscription Products
   Create subscription boxes featuring seasonal or themed laser-engraved products. For instance, quarterly home decor boxes or "holiday gifts" boxes can secure repeat buyers. 

3 Advanced Marketing Tips for Laser Engraving Success

1. Build a Process Story: Share behind-the-scenes content showing how your products are made. Customers love understanding the effort and craftsmanship behind handmade items. 
2. Partner with Local Businesses: Collaborate with wedding planners, photographers, or pet stores to showcase your items to their customers. 
3. Run Etsy-Specific Promotions: Take advantage of Etsy’s sale features to offer discounts during high-traffic periods, like holidays or wedding season. 

Where Do I Start?

Identify Your First 5 Core Products

One of the first steps is to identify which products you would like to start marketing on Etsy - come up with 5 core product ideas that you would like to kick-off with. Do not try to come up with your entire product road map just yet because it is way too early! You will have constant modifications to your game plan based on the customer feedback that you get and the types of sales volumes that you see for each product. 

Another important point to remember when you're turning your hobby into a side hustle, is that the products you may really enjoy making as a hobby, may not always be the same products that the broader market is passionate about! So it's important keep your emotions aside and base your product decisions on real market feedback and data, instead of what you love making, or what you think the market may like. Start listening to your customers and never stop! 

Identify Which Materials You Will Engrave

Coming up with your 5 core launch product ideas will guide you to an important decision point - deciding which materials you want to work with - glass, wood, acrylic, metals? This is an important question in the laser engraving world, because it directly impacts the tools that you choose to invest in! 

We have a comprehensive article that addresses the various types of laser engraving machines out there (Laser Engravers 101: Diode vs CO2 vs Fiber), each suitable for a different range of materials. However, if you want the most versatility starting out, so that you are not restricted too much in the types of materials you can engrave, then we recommend starting off with a CO2 laser cutter. 

Invest In A CO2 Laser Engraver & Cutter

A CO2 laser will allow you to easily engrave most types of woods, acrylics, glass, leather, fabric and even some metals (with the right coating). As you'll notice, this covers off most of the product idea examples we have covered above! Hence why, we would recommend a CO2 laser to start your journey with thanks to its versatility. 

In particular, the FLUX Beambox 40W CO2 Laser Cutter & Engraver is a great mid-range starting point for all makers looking to start a business. 

Why the FLUX Beambox 40W CO2 Laser Cutter Stands Out

The FLUX Beambox is perfect for small businesses looking to scale without breaking the bank (coming in under $3,000). Here are some reasons it’s a great choice:

• Versatility: Engrave wood, acrylic, leather, and more.
• Precision: Achieve intricate designs and professional results with a 40W CO2 glass tube laser source.
• Compact Design: Its small footprint makes it ideal for home studios.
• Camera: Built-in HD camera for precise alignment and preview
• Intuitive Software: Intuitive software (Beam Studio) and reliable performance make it suitable for makers at all skill levels.

Why Etsy Is a Great Platform for Laser Engraving Businesses

Etsy isn’t just another e-commerce platform; it’s a thriving marketplace designed to connect creators with customers who actively seek unique, handmade, and personalized items. For laser engraving businesses, Etsy offers several distinct advantages:

1. Built-in Buyer Trust: Etsy has built a reputation as a marketplace for high-quality, handmade goods. Customers come to Etsy looking for something special, which aligns perfectly with the one-of-a-kind products you can create with a laser engraving machine.
2. Extensive Marketing Power: Etsy doesn’t just rely on its own platform to drive traffic. It invests heavily in marketing, including Google Shopping ads, social media campaigns, and email marketing. This means your products could be showcased to millions of potential customers—without you needing to manage ad campaigns on your own.
3. Global Reach: With millions of active buyers across the globe, Etsy provides a built-in audience far larger than you might reach with a standalone website or small social media following. This allows you to focus on creating and fulfilling orders instead of worrying about traffic generation.
4. Seller Tools for Growth: Etsy offers a range of tools, from analytics to help you understand customer behavior to features like sales events and free shipping incentives that can encourage purchases. These resources are designed to help sellers grow and optimize their shops.
5. Community and Resources: Etsy provides a supportive environment for sellers, including forums, seller events, and educational materials. Whether you’re troubleshooting a product listing or looking for ways to refine your branding, there’s a community ready to help.
6. SEO and Search Visibility: Etsy’s search engine optimization helps surface your products both within the platform and on external search engines like Google. This can help drive traffic to your shop even if you’re not experienced with SEO strategies.
7. Ease of Entry: It is a great complimentary platform to support your efforts on your standalone website and social media accounts when just starting out. Etsy provides a straightforward and cost-effective way to start selling with its familiar, user-friendly interface that ensures you can set up and manage your shop without needing extensive technical skills.

By leveraging Etsy’s resources and reputation, laser engravers can quickly establish themselves in a competitive market, focusing their energy on creating unique products that stand out rather than on building an audience from scratch.

So, can you really make money with a laser engraver?

Absolutely. While it takes effort to build your shop and refine your offerings, the potential is significant. Many successful makers, like That Mom with A Laser, started small and scaled her businesses through platforms like Etsy and high-quality laser engravers like the FLUX Beambox 40W CO2 Laser Cutter & Engraver.

By exploring untapped product niches, making tweaks to your current offerings to give even more value to your customers, and applying strategic marketing, you can carve out a profitable corner in this growing market. It’s time to transform your ideas into income — one engraved piece at a time!