Video summary
The global book market represents a massive $150 billion industry, yet success in this sector extends far beyond simply selling books; it lies in the lucrative accessories that complete the total package for readers. This video highlights the "book lover and journaling niche" as a specific area where laser engraving can generate significant revenue through high-margin products like journals, pens, bookmarks, and notepad holders. By focusing on these complementary items, sellers can tap into a market driven by enthusiasts who appreciate personalized stationery, making it an ideal opportunity for those looking to build a profitable business around the total reading experience rather than just the text itself.
The presenter details six specific products that form the core of this niche, each offering distinct profit margins and production speeds. The anchor product is a refillable leatherette journal, which costs about $8.95 to source but can be sold for $18 to $25 when personalized, serving as an excellent gift for teachers or corporate events. Supporting items include pen sleeves that sell for $10 to $12, LED light-up pens with a markup from roughly $1.69 to $10, and magnetic leather bookmarks that can be sold in sets for $15 to $20. Additionally, wooden faux birch bookmarks offer a cost-effective option at around 60 cents per unit with a retail price of $10 to $12, while leatherette notepad holders provide a premium desk accessory look when engraved with gold foil effects.
To maximize profitability, the strategy shifts from selling individual items to creating bundled product offers that increase perceived value and average order size. Effective bundles include a "teacher appreciation set" combining a journal, pen sleeve, and bookmark for $30 to $45, or a business bundle featuring pens and sticky notes for new hires and clients. A particularly creative approach involves targeting specific book series like *Outlander*, *Harry Potter*, or *A Court of Thorns and Roses* by engraving themed sayings and icons across all items in a set. This thematic consistency allows sellers to market directly to dedicated fan communities, such as posting in relevant Facebook groups, thereby reaching a highly engaged audience that values specialized merchandise over generic stationery.
Ultimately, the key to thriving in this $150 billion market is leveraging the versatility of laser engraving to create high-value gifts and desk sets that appeal to various demographics, from students and teachers to corporate clients and book club members. The video emphasizes that while individual items can be sold quickly with minimal engrave time, true wealth comes from packaging these products thoughtfully and marketing them as cohesive solutions rather than isolated accessories. By utilizing subscription services like the Laser Loot Box to test new niches and high-end materials, entrepreneurs can continuously refresh their product lines and maintain a competitive edge in this ever-growing industry.
Read the full video transcript
Who reads anymore?
>> The global book market is worth $150
billion globally.
>> How do you take a page out of that book?
>> [music and singing]
>> What is up? Welcome back. We know you
love to do it, build it, and make it.
>> And we're here to help you sell it.
>> The book industry is huge, but it's not
all about the books. It's really about
all of the accessories that go along
with the total package.
>> Who doesn't love walking around Barnes &
Noble and looking at not just the books,
but all the accessories that it go along
with it? Things like pens, journals,
sticky notes, bookmarks. There's so many
fun things to look at when you're at
Barnes & Noble.
>> Today we're showing you one laser
money-making niche you probably haven't
paid enough attention to.
>> The book lover and journaling niche. We
made six products. We're going to show
you how much they cost, how fast we can
make them, how much we'd sell them for,
and who to market them to.
>> Everything we're making today came out
of a June Laser Loot Box. The Laser Loot
Box is a monthly subscription box for
laser owners who want to try out a new
niche, some new high-end materials, or
some new high-end laser blanks.
>> Book lover product number one, the
refillable leatherette journal. Now,
this is the anchor product for the
entire niche. Everybody needs a journal.
Everyone can use a journal. It's a great
gifting item. Now, we got these from
Lancaster Laser Supply. They were $8.95
each. We'll sell them anywhere from $18
to $25 personalized. And these are great
for teacher gifts, grad gifts, corporate
merchandise, swag for conferences,
church groups. There's so many different
ways that you can sell this product.
Now, this is only going to take about 3
minutes to engrave, so there's not a
whole lot of extra effort that you're
putting into for that kind of markup.
>> Book lover product number two, the pen
sleeve. Now, the pen sleeve doesn't give
main character energy like the journal
did. This is more like a sidekick. Think
of this as like your Robin to the
Batman, Chewbacca to Han Solo, or that
cat to Hong Kong Phooey. I don't
remember his name. You can pick these up
for like $3.50.
These sell easy for 10 to $12. These
take seconds to engrave, even inside
this 40-W diode, they still take about 1
minute, depending on how big your design
is. And I wouldn't get crazy with the
design. Again, this is a sidekick item.
Book lover product number three,
personalized laser engrave LED light up
pens. So, this isn't just an engraved
bamboo pen. This actually has some flare
to it. It pops when you light it. You
can pick these up for about $1.69. You
can easily sell these all day for 5 to
10 bucks. Now, these aren't just side
character, these could be a main
character energy right here. These are
great for corporate gifts. People love
to give out pens during conferences. So,
hit up giveaways, conferences. They also
make a great addition to or an upsell to
that pen sleeve and the journal. They
take seconds. Like, they each take
literally like 10 to 15 seconds. And
when I put them in here inside the jig,
I could easily get 25 done in about 10
minutes.
>> Book lover item number four, a magnetic
bookmark. Now, these are great because
they they're made of leather, they have
that premium feel to them. These are
going to be super quick to engrave
because you don't have a whole lot of
room to engrave on them. So, you're
going to put things like a nice monogram
or an icon. Maybe it's a puppy pack,
you're going to have a paw, a bone,
something cute on there.
Uh bub- butterflies, something like
that. So, these are great little
giftable items to sell in a set. You can
get them for $2.50 each and sell them in
a set of three for something like 15 to
$20 each. And this is where packaging
will come into play for these items, so
people can really see how you're going
to use them. You want to make sure
they're closed and over a piece of
paper, so you could tell that they're
licing magnetic bookmark. Now, these are
perfect for craft shows, these are gift
items. This There's so many different
places you can market these again.
Teachers, churches, clubs, book clubs,
anywhere you can sell a bookmark to.
Now, these are going to engrave super
fast. Seconds to engrave. We're going to
put it in here, line it up with your
camera, and be done with it.
>> Book lover product number five, the
wooden engrave bookmark. Now, these are
great because they're stand-alone or
they go great with a buddy. I also love
them because they're great for something
that you can batch out. I like this Ink
Effects faux birch because I can engrave
it and then easily just wipe it off. So,
a 12 by 20 of this is about 12 bucks. I
can easily fit 24 bookmarks on a sheet.
So, that makes each one about 50 cents.
Add a tassel. I think the cat tassel
cost about 10 cents. So, we're looking
at 60 cents total and you can easily
sell these for like 10 to 12 dollars.
For marketing on these
>> Yeah, what's important on these is the
branding and the packaging. You really
want to show that this has more
perceived value than what it is
stand-alone. You add a little cardstock
card on on this, engrave it with your
brand on it or information about the
product itself. And then these can have
so many different types of things up to
get rid of your hand. So many different
types of things, things like sassy
sayings, um biblical sayings, lots of
different things that you can put on
these. You can make them monograms.
There's so many different ways to
>> Super personal. You can make them super
personal.
>> Book lover product number six, the
leatherette notepad holder. Now, this is
going to cost you $4.99 and you can sell
these for 12 to 15. These take you from
book lover straight to desk and office.
These are great for teachers, coaches,
realtors. Pair them with a journal or a
pen and you've got yourself a full desk
set. And they're beautiful when they're
engraved because it goes from this
tan leatherette to this gold foil look
to it and it engraves in seconds.
>> Now, here's where this niche gets good.
It's not about selling a single product.
>> It's about bundling together and
creating a product offer. You want to
offer maybe a teacher appreciation set
where you're going to bundle the
journal, the pen sleeve, the bookmark
and sell it anywhere from 30 to 45
dollars.
>> Or you get the business bundle, put a
couple of things together like the pen,
the journal, maybe the sticky notepad,
sell it as a new hire, retire or client
gifts.
>> And one of my favorites is a niche
within a niche and these are the book
series sets. Sell all of these items
together but engraved with the same
theme on it like your favorite book
series. I'm a big fan of the Outlander
series so put the Outlander sayings on
there. Think Lord of the Rings, Harry
Potter or how about the new series A
Court of Thorns and Roses? Put that
snake on one of these bookmarks or on
the pen sleeve.
>> Now, if you don't know how to market
your product, we do have a full social
media new product posting schedule
available in our members area but here's
how I would do it. I would take a couple
of good shots or maybe a couple of
videos of my product. I would post them
on my Facebook business page, sign out
of my business page, sign back in as my
personal page, head over to the
Outlander fans Facebook group and post
my new Outlander merch, you know, as
myself be like, "Oh, look at this cute
little thing that I found." Outlander in
the Outlander group. That's how I would
do my marketing.
>> We have a full marketing life cycle for
a product and the cheat sheet over at
kngmakit.com
in our members area.
>> Tell us in the comment below what
product you plan on making first. Is it
the journal? Those journals look good.
Is it the bookmark? Is it the wooden
bookmark? The pen? I love the pens.
>> Every item that you see came that we
made today came from our June Laser Loot
Box. And that's exactly why we built the
Laser Loot Box. It's not a bunch of
random blanks. Each month is a product
niche that you can test. And if you want
the next Laser Loot Box mission, sign up
at laserlootbox.com
and subscribe before the monthly cutoff.
>> Now, if you did miss the cutoff, we do
have a limited supply of one-time
mission boxes. So, head on over and grab
one of those if you want.
Otherwise, I am about out of time. I got
to go engrave some more book lover
things. I got to finish up a package
that I'm making for Kim.
>> Mhm.
>> And a big thanks to the Make It Mafia.
We love you guys. That is the best
member section over there. The member
section includes extra extra files,
extra content, extra love, extra
support. It is just the best.
>> Someone was feeling a little down,
thinking they might give up on their
business. And about 10 comments after
that said, "You've got the Make It Mafia
behind you." So, go and join the family.
>> Join me. It's all about the family.