Creating a course on coping with bipolar disorder. How much should I charge?

by Nathan Lewis

Posted: 10 years ago 11 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I'm biplolar and have gone through a rough road. I eventually learned how to deal with the mania and the depression and the addiction that comes from self-medicating. I have some seriously valuable knowledge that can help others. I've participated a lot on the bipolar subs on reddit, so I know what people are struggling with. I have answers to these problems. So I want to make a course.

I know some of you will castigate me for trying to profit off a mental illness, but I pay my psychiatrist $400 an hour. He gets to profit from the disorder and he hasn't even suffered through the hell one has to go through before figuring things out like I have. Why shouldn't I be able to profit helping people too?

Ok, so now the question. How much do you think I should charge? I will cover all the things books on biploar disorder written by doctors who haven't suffered from the disorder don't cover. The #1 thing I will cover is to show someone how to emotionally accept their disorder. This is the thing the doctors fail to cover, and it's the most important and the most difficult thing for us bipolars to do. I spent 8 years in hell and chaos because I wasn't taught how to emotionally accept my disorder.

I'm also going to cover a lot of personal development territory. This is a crucial aspect that doctors also don't touch.

I am going to update my course regularly, so someone who buys it can expect to get new material for years to come as I learn more about myself and become wiser and more well read. I'm going to publish the course on Udemy, so I can't charge a monthly rate. I do want to profit from this course, but it is also a work of passion. I'm not concerned with working and updating it for years to come. It will start off as a business venture but then later become a past time.

So what do you think. What's a fair price for a project like this?

#bipolar #charge #coping #creating #disorder

Tom Addams 10 years ago

How much do other people charge for a similar product? Go from there.

Tom
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Nathan Lewis 10 years ago

There is no similar product.
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- radhika 10 years ago
  
  As you add material continuously, 6 months or 12 months membership will do good.
  
  Reg. amount, put some passion in it for your fellow people and start with less ... like $99.00 / year. (Again not sure how much material you provide initially. Try to adjust it based on the people response and sales) Try to develop a real support group at the same time.
  
  Note: You need to put a disclaimer that it is not a health advice site that replaces doctors advice.
  
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Mark Singletary 10 years ago

A couple thoughts:

Doctors get to do this because they have the training and the license. You don't know whether professionals have gone through the hell you've gone through or not. I, personally know, professionals that have gone through it and they hide it pretty well from their patients.

I think most people suffering from bipolar aren't looking to buy a book or a course about how to make it all go away. Many of them are so beat down, from the lows and the highs, that they lose hope for any kind of cure.

I also believe that many personal development type concepts may not work so well for many people. Many people suffering from depression (and bipolar) get told to "suck it up" or "try harder" or "set some goals" and _____ (fill in the personal development words) and none of it "sticks" without treatment, including in many cases meds.

I am one of those against getting involved in a market like this without the proper training.

However, having said all that you may be better off to aim your product at the family members, and to a lesser extent friends or coworkers, of people with bipolar. They, not having this disease but having to live with it day by day, need help. They can maybe be more situated to make the changes necessary to help themselves as well as their loved one.

This approach may keep you out of trouble (as long as you aren't dishing out medical advice) because you aren't treating or helping with a disease per se but you are helping "normal" people that aren't sick cope. I'm not a lawyer, so of course, I don't give legal advice.

And finally, the fact that there is no similar product tells me that there is no market for this kind of product. Yes people need help but they get it for free all over the web or through their doctor's office. There is too much bipolar disorder around and too many smart marketers to not have products here if there was any money.

Mark
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Phil Essex 10 years ago

It's an interesting topic - fraught with dangers of all kinds though. You well know how hard it is to cope being bi-polar and a course on dealing with it is going to get you a lot of various feedback - some quite rough I expect.

You are going to have to be very cautious in your wording - it's great to offer anecdotal evidence and advice but be very careful of claiming you will fix them.

I understand that's not your question but I have seen similar things hit the fan.

Price wise a $100 dollars and if it doesn't sell then discount it like everyone else does on UDEMY. You are not locked in.

Meanwhile you can start a site with a forum - you will be shocked at how many people will end up there - again health issues are tricky, but from there you can tell your story and help others while advertising your course.

As far as making money off it - you NEED to charge for it - no one pays much attention to free information and you are trying to offer something that will actually help people.

if one person has a better day for $99 dollars that's far better than being miserable and buying a cellphone.....
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erikastanley 10 years ago

I have no idea how much you should charge for your product, but making a membership site sounds like a great idea. If you are planning to make a long term course, you can charge your member with an annual membership fee. Consider creating a forum or something similar where member can discuss about their mental health, this helps a lot for someone who have mental disorder.
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David Keith 10 years ago

i would come at this more from a personal experience thing rather than an expert trying to train others.

tell your story in a way that has tips and such rather than try to make it a "course"

often times people with ailments both physical or mental are looking for people and they can identify with and relate to. they dont really want another guy telling them they have all the answers they need...just give me $XX and i will tell them to you.

I am not suggesting your motives are not pure, i am just saying that i think people who have real health issues that are difficult to fix, are more willing to engage another persons personal experience rather than some cure-all type of course.
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- Nathan Lewis 10 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by David Keith
  
  i would come at this more from a personal experience thing rather than an expert trying to train others
  
  This is precisely what I intend to do. The number one message that I am going to pump is to get help from a psychiatrist and a therapist. The biggest problem people with bipolar have is that they don't get help. This is because it's really hard to emotionally accept the fact that we need help. This is caused by the stigma of mental illness but it is also caused by the way bipolar meds make one feel in the beginning. The most important point I want to make is to show people how to survive the first six months being on meds, as they are the hardest.
  
  So I'm not too concerned with liability. My main message is to get professional help. Obviously I will have to have a disclaimer anyway, but I can't get into trouble by telling people they need to work with a psychiatrist. There is a lot more to do than that though. Thus the course I will create.
  
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Brent Stangel 10 years ago

I'm going to publish the course on Udemy,

Why? I suggest you build your own site, for numerous reasons.
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- Nathan Lewis 10 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by Brent Stangel
  
  Why? I suggest you build your own site, for numerous reasons.
  
  What's wrong with Udemy?
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  discrat 10 years ago
  
  Nathan,
  Bi Polar disorder is a horrible disease that can take the life from anyone at anytime.
  
  I commend you for what you are doing.
  
  I would suggest to construct a blog. And detail your personal experience and really engage people that way.
  
  Of course a medical doctor is always suggested for Cases like this.
  
  But I believe as a person suffering from it you may give it that personable touch that many doctors fall short with.
  
  Maybe you can have an Optin on the side of the blog building a List by giving away a report discussing some natural remedies, exercises, and natural treatments you have used to control this dreadful disease.
  
  As far as a product you could promote within these emails ?
  Its hard for me to say. My gut feeling is maybe become an Affiliate with a reputable, Medical doctor who is world renowned and sell one of his Course/Ebook about controlling this disease (which of course should be of high quality )
  
  I don't know, this is just an idea.
  
  Iam sure you have ideas that match this or even quite better
  
  - Robert Andrew
  
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