Very unsure about Health Niches - your Views please

I promote non life threatening illnesses. Sweat is fine, but I will not touch life threatening illnesses.

I take the stance of a reporter in niches where I am not an expert, but not with serious health issues. There is something about FATE that dont want to tempt...if you know what I mean.

Yups, I used to do blogging on health topics, however, I used to do more research on internet as well as with my friends before I publish some info on health or illness... Because, I don't want to play with my readers :p

Yeah, you could do non life threatening health issues niches.
Sweat should be fine.

I think it is best to avoid terminal illness niches.

On the other hand, if you have good information, well-researched information which you have spent time digesting and understanding, BUT don't share it with others, even online, then you are leaving the playing field to those who may be less informed, misinformed, and even outright charlatans.

Your friends/sons/daughters/relatives ARE already getting advice (even nutritional medicine advice) from people other than doctors, dieticians, etc. The question is: are those OTHER sources reliable? You can't know for sure. The only way to be sure is to do the research yourself and share your findings with your friends.

(BTW, I may be wrong but I'd advise against taking it for granted that ALL doctors are well-versed in nutritional medicine or cellular nutrition. They aren't)

Just a thought.

Kenneth

Ps. I saw two relatives die within two months of each other and another (all three from the same extended family) suffer a near fatal stroke. I spent a little time taking care of the stroke patient. Went from a big strapping man to an emaciated skeleton. If only he knew how to take care of himself with the latest findings, he could have avoided such a fate. Me, I'm doing my darndest to avoid such a fate through nutritional and exercise research.

Having read a number of books on clickbank on the subject of sweat most of them are incorrect and the information is laughable.

We have a written a number of books on health and always write from a layperson's point of view.

The book we wrote on MRSA we had someone medical look at it and they discovered something they hadn't realised.

It depends on the way a book is written, but if anyone wanted to promote our health books we are more than happy to talk with people about the content (give them a review copy even) and talk about the research and where it was done etc

Do your products actually help others?

If so then there should be no problem with keeping your sites up.

However, if your products DON'T help others then that brings other things into question that you should take up with yourself

As a registered nurse, I've been in the health field for quite a while and I have never had any qualms about the content on the membership sites I used to run which delivered PLR health articles and ebooks etc for others to use.

Probably one of the reasons why the sites were so successful was because the members were reassured that the site was run by someone who knew what they were doing.

I didn't write the articles myself, but I made darn sure I used reputable writers whom I knew would research the content correctly (and I quality checked them).

It's always best to have a huge disclaimer on your sites ensuring that readers etc are aware that your ebooks articles etc are for information only and they should always visit their health care practitioner for advice and treatment

Kim

I would keep the sweat site and take down anything that is "illness" related.

I agree with you about promoting serious health-related products. I'm leery of doing that, too. Plus, there's always the fear that someone can come back on you for making a statement that is harmful. It's way too iffy. I've been promoting the anxiety/depression/stress products because I have a first-hand knowledge of them which makes it a little easier for me to write about. Plus, for the most part they are relatively safe to promote. I would never promote medications or alternative medicines because things can go wrong. You don't know how people's bodies will react to some of that stuff. There are too many unanswered questions that only a doctor can know or find out. Every individual is different.

Rather than abandoning your niche altogether:

Why not consider a way to help people with diabetes by addressing it from a different angle, rather than as a cure or treatment. Why not cover it from the side of coping. For instance, tips to help families deal with the situation ie: shopping, cooking for 1 out of 5, easing their concerns about the illness, the importance of staying fit, limitations, etc. This information you can get from reliable sources, like the Diabetes Association.

Look for affiliate products that take that angle - or just create your own product, ie: "Coping with Diabetes - Everyday Tips for the Entire Family" or something like that.

Just a suggestion.

Sylvia

If you include weight loss in the health niche, then I think it can be a very good niche to get into...

I think the health niche can be seperated into 2 categories..

1) Curing ailments..

2) Improving your health..

Thread lightly on the first one....I would stay away from anything
that would suggest curing or trying to cure a disease or condition..

The second one I am involved with myself...particulary, body building...
I think if you can focus on products that will help someone improve
the condition of their body....you are definately on the right track..

I forget the link but two days ago i saw a news item about 2 australian marketers that had 60 ebooks on health cures - they made $2,000,000 in a couple of years.

They were prosecuted and fined for fraud - same as perry belcher

Always get the legal side sorted out.

I don't agree with speaking lightly on topics of serious health conditions. I also don't agree with exploiting people with such conditions. Personally, I'm very happy that some authorities are cracking down on mis-information from unqualified spouter's.

I think you need to be guided by your ethics, because in the end you have to answer to your conscience. I take this approach when discussing online counselling and therapy. If you are writing about health topics that you do not have personal experience with, it is important to present information that is balanced.

Any serious topic should only be addressed by a professional because allot of people take what they read on the internet as the ultimate guide

One has to make one's own mind up.

Certainly, selling "rubbish" products directly or as an affiliate should force you to close them down.

However, from a different perspective, I bet the doctor's, medico's, drug companies and all of their Public Relation's arms which say only they have the real answers are very happy with the comments in this thread, and the scare tactics they have used.

Are doctors or drug companies the only ones with answers to health problems?

Obviously not, but many rules, regulations and also public perception makes one think they are.

Sam

P.S. - It's interesting how so many well known drugs, literally started off as side effects of an originally planned treatment.

Maybe the new side effects often created can be a "treatment" for something else.

Don't get me started...

Well,I think you're really reponsible.That's the problem between profit and responsibility.Of course giving it up is a way to solve the problem.Also you can spend more time to prove whether your products are healthy and valuable.

i had this problem too. But you know what: people do not buy the products directly after seeing your link. The google it. For example ""Your product" fake?"

I think perry belchers post has hit the nail on the head:

"This is a trillion dollar cash loaded industry reserved for the big boys. Period."

"
You can figure out what this is really about if you have a brain in your head."

this is indeed a problem - especially since we often dont know/test the products we advertise ;/

I feel bad since i promoted a number of those "colon cleanse" products which were heavily pushed by every CPA network....and it turned out that people got scammed BIG TIME.

Otherwise we just hope/can assume that a well selling product on eg Clickbank is of value - and try to research and find reviews to get an idea whether a product is actually good. Or politely ask the vendor to simply send you a copy of the book.

Health is a subject that I can talk or write about with confidence. Not because I "medically trained," whatever that means but by the "school of hard knocks." I've survived four heart attacks and you better believe it is a subject that I research very seriously.
I also have a brain injury, from bypass surgery.
After my third heart attack following recommened guidlines I came to the conclusion that if I continued following ALL my doctors' advice I'd die. Anyone here ever hear of iatrophic deaths...death by doctors, which depending on the source ranks anywhere from #1 to #5. That Ladies and Gentlemen is 100,000 to 800,000 deaths a year.
I came to the decision that whether the DR or me was right or wrong if I was going to suffer the consequences then I would make the decisions.
I've had one heart attack since implementing my version and that came soon after taking matters in my hands and it didn't require stents or angioplasty.
Misinformation exists on both sides of the medical aisle. And I think mainstream and govt sites are some of the worst offenders of outright lies,half-truths, misinformation, and omissions.
A perfect example is the nonsense of fat and especially the bad press that saturated fat gets and exactly illustrates misinformation, half-truths and omissions labeled as gospel. There are two kinds of saturated fat...dietary and a second type that your body makes in response to excessive sugar and that kind can indeed be harmful but dietary saturated is benefical.
Cholesterol is another example of this kind of hype.
Three examples from my experience with my DR. Last summer I had rashes...small pimple like white breaks on my arms that swelled and "bled" a white substance. My research revealed an antibiotic overload from a staph infection from the hospital. Which leads me to a 2nd example; the staph breaks out as very painful boils that often lead to lancing. From my research I tried collodial silver on one very painful boil and in 30 minutes it began draining and in one hour was completely gone to the extent that a culture could not contained be obtained later that day! When I told my DR what I done she said,"yeah we use it on burn victims all the time." Well duh don't wouldn't that have been good to know.
The third example is my Dr. wanted to screen me for pre diabeties and ordered a gloucose tolerance test which didn't show high sugar levels and she was satified until I pointed out that insulin was a better marker and might be a reason for my weight gain. It was high. Her response; a calorie restricted low-fat diet! What nonsense.
I do think that DRs are useful though, for meds that I use, for trauma or acute conditions and for tests. Case in point the symptons are the same for low or high potassium levels and without a blood test you won't know.
The advice you get from mainstream is bascially CYA information.
Folks for the most part this ain't rocket science and nobody gets out of life alive, so lighten up. I've named my diet, KISS; for keep it simple silly.
BTW if anybody wants health information researched let me know, I'd be glad to.
-Lyn

This is something I have had to think about before too, and although I am a Vendor for a Migraine related product I have always ensured the products I make or promote are high quality.

I always make sure no false claims are made and within the information it is all legit information, factual and no over-blown statements or wrong information.

I don't think anyone should stop promoting health products if they want to, but be sure to check out the products first and make sure no wrong information is given.

I stay away from critical illness health niches. Don't want to be responsible for steering someone to products that could be detrimental to their health or steer them away from getting professional advice.

kenj,
What's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?(kidding!) So good to see someone exhibit a good conscience, and act on it. I believe I have a similar conscience. Personally, I sure wouldn't want to promote someone else's lack of conscience by selling their material for their personal gain - or my own. There's plenty of opportunity out there, without possibly doing harm to someone. You are showing that you truly care about people you don't even know. Thank you for doing what is right!

Just noticed this thread has been resurrected. Unfortunately this is not true for my friend Pete who died in October leaving wife and 4 children.

In the intervening months since my OP I have decided to avoid the serious health niches. Sweat is OK. Migraine - OK only because I got a doctor to look at the product for me.

Diabetes is a no no for me. Cancer and heart disease likewise.

On top of this I am closing sites in other niches where my content is complete bunkum. I know visitors to these sites recognize them as bunkum and move on because the sales figures are so pathetic from them.

You want to know where I make money? In Niches where I am an expert.

I know most warriors say this is not the way to go but they are quite wrong. IMHO. The reason people in the IM market say "promote what sells - not what you are interested in" is simply to draw people in to buy their products.

I digress

Thanks for contributing here as it has helped me know which direction to go in for the future.

Ken