How Dr. Chem Thug Uses Dashery to Save Time & Engage His Community
Dr. Chem Thug is not your typical content creator. With a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry, he is on a mission to make science more accessible to as many people as possible!
Why He Started Selling Merch
When Dr. Chem Thug first began creating science videos, merch wasn’t on his mind at all.
“Honestly, it was my audience, really. I initially wasn't going to do merch and then I just kept getting requests and dare I say demands from some people who are like you ‘need merch, you got to have merch, I want to buy some merch from you!’ And I was like, I mean I'm trying to figure out how to make science videos. But okay, I guess I'll figure out how to get you some t-shirts!”
Designing Merch That Resonates
For Dr. Chem Thug, merch is more than just a logo on a shirt. It’s a way to spark conversation and celebrate science.
He points to some of his favorite designs: “One of the shirts is the periodic table of black women in STEM. One of them is the periodic table of black scientists in STEM.”
His Approach to Promotion
When it comes to marketing, Dr. Chem Thug keeps it simple and organic.
“My preference in marketing my shirts and merch is to simply wear the shirt, have somebody comment on it, and then I'll just reply directly to that comment saying, thank you so much. My wife designed the shirt, one of her best. Definitely go check it out in a bio, you know, or something to that effect.”
How Dashery Saves Him Time
Running a merch store can be a full-time job, but Dashery handles the logistics so creators can focus on their main work.
“How does Dashery take time off my plate? Well, as somebody who used to have a consumer packaged goods business, I can very confidently say that I do not have to package anything. I don't have to ship anything. I don't have to store anything. I don't have to make anything. I don't have to respond to customer emails. I ain't got to worry about refunds. I ain't got to worry about the post office missing a package. I ain't got to worry about inclement weather making things late. I ain't got to worry about gift cards. I ain't got to worry about holiday rushes.”
“Selling things is hard. Selling things is a business. There are all kinds of things that you have to be mindful of. I didn't even start to talk about the accounting side of all of that. I'm trying to make chemistry videos for people. Like, I ain't got time for that.”
“Dashery takes a whole lot off of the plate. If you are in any way, shape or form, interested in having merch of some sort that's related to or from your brand, and you don't have the ability to produce this on your own, yeah, Dashery is a great, great tool for that.”
Why He Switched to Dashery
“The switch from TeePublic to Dashery has been pretty smooth. I get a bigger cut of the of the profits from the shirts and it's been pretty great to have a I'll say hands-off but like a very very well managed kind of merch store that I don't have to worry too much about.”
“My experience with Dashery has been more or less unequivocally, overwhelmingly positive. Can't say anybody shouldn't try it. I think it's a really solid platform and I'm very thankful for all it's allowed me to do in terms of making a little extra revenue, and engaging with my community.”
