idea for Gout ebook/kindle?

I can see it now ... "Gout, Pseudogout & Pyrophosphate Arthropathy", by A. Sufferer.

Am not a gouty Warrior (one health problem I don't have!), but may I be an affiliate (ClickBank, not Kindle, natch)?

My observation isn't altogether facetious. I'm wondering whether something "simplified/scientific" might find a market, in this niche.

There may be large numbers of people who have either gout or something closely or even something not-so-closely related to it, who aren't really familiar with the diagnostic criteria but wouldn't mind learning more, if approached in relatively simple, clear terms?

Something along the lines of "Before even considering the treatment options for your gout, do you even know the difference between 'gout' and 'pseudogout'?" I'm just thinking that a lot of people may not, but might like to (and an "educational product" might avoid quite a bit of the otherwise inevitable need for legal advice, in a niche like this)? :confused:

hey Alexa, thanks, interesting idea, i like that since it's more specific and targeted... any of these chronic conditions that people suffer with (hypoglycemia, diabetes, gout, arthritis, fatty liver syndrome) are likely good areas to provide help with, in tips/coping strategy ebooks/kindles. and right re legal advice needed for any health-niche related topic, good points

Use sites like USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal to get government-approved health tips and advice for gout sufferers, then compile your research into a report that can be sold either as a stand-alone product or a kindle book.

Just did a quick Google search for: how to cure gout

6.6 million results. Not too shabby. Eight various Adsense ads. Not too shabby again. This is what I consider a cursory eval. Based on this alone, I'd say that there's probably something here.

Then I went to Amazon Kindle and found in the neighborhood of 20+ books on the topic and dozens of related titles. None of those books are ranked very high in the overall Kindle rankings though some may rank well in minor categories.

Overall, I'd say there's a healthy market for the info. The trick is to position yourself so you come across as having something different. That might not be easy but you'd probably know better than I what hook might work.

It appears there are plenty of buyers of this info. The question is, can you make it work? Good luck.

In my opinion, this is a TERRIBLE idea. You're opening a potentially DANGEROUS can of worms.

Unless you're a licensed medical doctor, why would anyone want to get their medical information or advice from you? There are better sources available. Having the condition does not make you an expert or mean that you are qualified to advise others.

If someone has gout, they've invariably been to a doctor -- it's not a condition you can ignore for very long. And it's not as if there's a dire shortage of such info available. There are already reputable sites (such as WebMD) that provide detailed information supplied by medical doctors -- not lay persons.

But here's the big question...

What if, somehow, someone is harmed by your advice?

(This is the thing that would scare me.)

Maybe your advice is bad. Maybe your advice is inadequate or incomplete. Maybe they misunderstood what you meant.

Or, based on the info you supply, maybe they think they've got gout pain when it's really something more serious and threatening? What if it's diabetic neuropathy and they end up losing a toe (or foot)? What if it's a blood clot and they lose a limb (or their life)?

Are these things possible? I don't know. I'm not a doctor... and neither are you.

The thing is... if something DOES go wrong, a shrewd lawyer is likely to sue everybody involved in any way or to any degree -- just to cover their bases.

(Are you afraid yet? Are you willing to assume the risk?)

I have two pieces of advice:

1) If you decide to do this, make sure you set aside at least $200,000 for potential legal expenses.

2) Go to medical school before you start giving medical info or advice. (It's a litigious world -- and there are safer niches to explore.)

Finally... I'm sorry. I did NOT write this post to rain on your parade. I wrote it to potentially save you 200K (or more) and, perhaps, many sleepless nights. You can thank me later.

John

I'm far from an expert on eBook marketing, but I have written 6 eBooks, and have sold at least 1 copy of each...2 of my eBooks are currently selling about 1 copy/day at the Kindle store, and I do no marketing directing people to my Kindle books (I instead promote my website).

That said....All of the books that I wrote have taken me roughly 2 weeks to write from start to finish, including editing, PROPER FORMATTING (very important!), cover creation, and writing the initial description.

All I do is simply write about what I know on the topic, and I go into as much detail as I possibly can....

So without giving medical advice, you could simply just write about everything you know about Gout, how you deal with it, things that you do to help it, how you know a "flare up" is occuring (not sure if that's the correct terminology, but you get my point), etc...

After you put all of your knowledge, which is based on your experience, into a nicely edited and formatted eBook, determine a TITLE THAT YOU THINK WILL SELL.

In my extremely limited experience, the title is the most important "sales pitch" you can possibly do for your book aside from letting lots of people know that the book exists.

What title do you think will really catch the eyes of those who are searching for a book like yours?

What title do you think that people will type into search engines?

- Living with Gout
- Dealing with Gout
- My Experiences with Gout, and How I remedy it

....Or whatever you think that BEST describes exactly what your book is about (or what you want people to THINK that your book is about).

Just a suggestion based on my experience.

I was a registered Physical Therapist for almost 30 years (I'm retired from practice now). I have to agree that getting into a medical area is fraught with difficulty. There are some out there who are just dying to sue someone... anyone... to get a big payout, and to give up work. And there is a crowd of lawyers who are waiting and willing to help them make it reality! Sorry, but it's true.

One way to do this would be to write about your own experiences with your condition. This would be autobiographical and not educational. No one could argue that whatever you write wasn't your experience!

I have an in-depth knowledge from 3 decades of experience, a degree, and a licence to practice in the medical field and even I would think twice before tackling something like this.

Some say all you need to do is put a disclaimer in your book to say you "are not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice" and that anyone following the advice in your book should "do so at their own risk!" Disclaimers just don't work in the medical world! This is BAD advice.

Ask a good medical lawyer what he / she thinks and you'll get a very different answer, (after they stop laughing at you!)

I would advise anyone reading this to stay well clear of medical related material It's a potential mine field, and could very easily ruin your business not to mention your life and the life of all those you care about! Medical practitioners have multi-million dollar organisations behind them to help them defend medical law suits - you don't.