How to Make Things to Sell on Etsy and Beyond - 5 Tips and Tricks
Calling all crafters, entrepreneurs, and aspiring business owners! Glowforge is much more than just a laser cutter and laser engraver. It's a way to turn your creativity into an opportunity.
Whether you're looking for a side gig or just want to create DIY crafts to keep children busy during the holidays, Glowforge is for you! It offers precise technology, easy-to-use features, and a world of money-making possibilities.
It's never been easier to make things to sell on Etsy, at craft fairs, or even on your own website! But how? In this article, we'll give you some tips and tricks for making money with your Glowforge 3D Laser Printer.
How to Come Up With Best-Selling Ideas
Don’t worry - you don't have to be a creative genius to make money with Glowforge! All you need is a bit of inspiration.
You can use your own designs or choose from the wide range of options in the Glowforge Catalog. Browse beginner, intermediate, and advanced designs, or even filter the results to find ones that take 15 minutes or less. With the power of Glowforge, you can make some of the best things to sell on Etsy in under an hour.
Most Catalog designs come with a commercial license so you can legally print, sell, or gift as many physical copies as you like. Even better, you can customize the design with your own brand. Add logos, images, text – with Glowforge, you can make it your own!
How to Make Money with a Laser
Once you've found that great idea, it's time to send it out into the world. With Glowforge, you have a factory on your desk that can produce your designs in bulk, quickly and efficiently.
Glowforge’s innovative laser technology means you can make just about anything. This laser cutter machine is accurate to the width of a single human hair, and the Autofocus feature automatically measures the precise height of the material, whether it’s a piece of paper or a laptop. Simply upload your design to the Glowforge App and watch the magic happen. Your design can be as simple or as complicated as you like, plus Glowforge works with the most common file types like SVG, PDF, JPG, and PNG. And because you’re using a laser, you can work with hundreds of materials: wood, leather, glass, metal, cork, paper – even food!
The only limit is your imagination.
1. Prototype Your Ideas to Create a Perfect Finished Product
For a seamless production process, look no further than Glowforge. This laser engraving machine gives you the power to tweak your designs and streamline your products.
Glowforge eliminates the need for third party production lines and lets you turn your money-making ideas into reality yourself.
Glowforge entrepreneurs don’t only sell their creations on Etsy. Think much, much bigger. Glowforge gives creators the tools to push their creativity to the limits. @tonybruth took advantage of Glowforge’s rapid prototyping capabilities to further his creative career. Now he makes stylish, modern light fixtures in his own garage.
When he was approached by an event organizer, he "took nine of the successful paper designs and modified them to work in a more durable aluminum variation," and before he knew it his aluminum light fixtures were hanging in a "big gala fundraiser in a helicopter hanger in Chicago."
2. Monetize Your Hobbies
One of the best ways to make money with a laser is to start with creations or hobbies you're already passionate about.
@Polarbrainfreeze is one creator who decided to monetize their passion for miniature war tabletop games. What started as a family hobby transformed into a profitable side hustle. They used the power of Glowforge to create terrain for games like Warhammer and Infinity, and they even sold their products at the Canadian Tabletop Championship.
Since then, Polarbrainfreeze has been "cutting like crazy" and keeping their Glowforge "running for about 7-8 hours a day" to keep up with the demand – they‘re even in talks with tournament organizers about creating bulk orders.
Putting your own passions behind your products will help set you apart from other sellers. Plus, it’s more fun to make things you love!
3. Create Personalized Products
Lots of entrepreneurs ask us: What are the best things to sell on Etsy to make money?
Personalized products are a billion-dollar industry. With Glowforge’s laser cutter and laser engraver technology, you can personalize almost any material to add the perfect details to every project.
Bamboo and wood are two of the most popular personalization materials that Glowforge creators use. Personalized cutting boards, bag charms and ornaments will never go out of fashion. Glowforge is designed to quickly create even the most intricate designs, which means that you can finish a personalized order within minutes.
Or think about businesses looking for custom packaging. By offering business owners bulk orders, you can use Glowforge’s quick printing times to increase your profits. Glowforge creator Holly even used her laser engraving machine to create personalized stamps for packaging.
4. Sell Digital Designs
This is one of the easiest, yet often overlooked, ways to make money with your Glowforge: get paid for your good ideas!
Glowforge Premium users can sell their designs in the Glowforge Catalog! Your designs are published to the Catalog, where every Glowforge creator can discover, purchase, and print them.
Unlike other platforms, the Glowforge Catalog allows designers to protect their work. Other Glowforge creators can print the design, but not the original file. Once you’ve perfected your design, you can submit it to the Catalog and get paid monthly. The more people get it, print it, and love it, the more you get paid.
Here are some of the Glowforge Catalog’s top-selling designers You can browse through their catalogs to find inspiration for your next creation.
Want to learn more about how to earn passive income from your designs? Read our guide on how to become a catalog designer to start your journey.
5. Refer a Friend and Reap the Rewards
Participating in our referral program is an easy way to make money with your Glowforge. If you refer a friend and they purchase a Glowforge, they’ll get a discount on their printer and you’ll get the same value back in cash!
For example, if your friend purchases a Glowforge Pro, they’ll get $500 off, and you’ll earn $500! When they buy a Plus, you’ll get $250, and for a Basic you’ll get $125. Sharing your Glowforge story with your friends can earn you money – it’s that simple!H3: Learn how to Boost Your Business With a Product Demo
Unsure how to use your Glowforge laser cutter? Want to learn more about engraving vs. scoring? Schedule a product demo now. Who knows, you might even learn how to make things to sell on Etsy!
Learn how to Boost Your Business With a Product Demo
Unsure how to use your Glowforge laser cutter? Want to learn more about the engraving tool? Schedule a product demo now. Who knows, you might even learn how to make things to sell on Etsy!
