Why Dr. Mercola Sells Products on His Website

“After all, my health recommendations go against the conventional grain, and frequently contradict the long-term benefit and interest of many multi-national, multi-billion-dollar corporations that don’t want the truth to be told. So they frequently generate frivolous lawsuits to harass and intimidate me from sharing what I know.”  Dr. Joseph Mercola

What are your thoughts and feelings when you see someone selling products on their blog or website?  Why?

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.  (Prov. 11:25; NIV)

I know that Dr. Joseph Mercola can sometimes be like anchovies…you either love ‘em or hate ‘em.  Many people find him extremely controversial and even abrasive.  However, he has done more to educate the general public on living a healthy lifestyle than perhaps anyone else on the Internet.  He recently wrote a post explaining why he sells products on his site.

I am one of the “few” that remembers when he first began his site and when he didn’t offer any products for sale.  His information was rich…and free.  I learned a great deal from him that I wasn’t learning in my nutrition textbooks.  After a while, I did begin to wonder how he was able to offer all of that information at no cost to the reader.  Then, when he began selling products, I was a bit taken aback.  At first I thought it seemed to cheapen the site.  Someone was doing some heavy duty marketing it seemed.

Those of you who read our blogs are well aware that I continue to read and use Dr. Mercola’s site to this day.  It was with great interest that I read his post on why he sells products.  Allow me to share some of the high points for those of you who aren’t able to read his article.  Dr. Mercola spent nearly twenty-five years seeing over 25,000 patients and using a variety of natural therapies and observing the effectiveness of those therapies.  He believed that many people would benefit from what he learned, so he began sharing it online.  (He also has a passion for technology as well.)

He says he put everything he had learned on the site.  “There weren’t any ‘secrets’ that I would share with someone that would see me as a private patient that wouldn’t already be on the website.”  However, even though he was the only employee and he didn’t draw a salary, it cost him more than $500,000 to keep the site up and running for the first three years.

Dr. Mercola writes, “A couple of obvious options were to start using paid advertising, or get investors. But I didn’t want to be limited in sharing my view of health truths, and I didn’t want to be handcuffed to endorse anything I didn’t truly believe in.  So my last option was to sell products that I personally believe in and can comfortably endorse.”

This certainly sheds a different light on the subject of selling products on a site.  Even though I don’t have near the knowledge or influence as Dr. Mercola, there have been times when I’ve wondered how I too could earn income on what I do share.  I freely share information with many.  And just like I didn’t understand Dr. Mercola’s need to sell products on his site, I know there are people who don’t understand why I would need to earn income on what I share and recommend.  However, Jerry and I have begun offering a few items on our website that we highly recommend and totally believe in (and use ourselves).  We hope you will understand.

Prayer Power
Father, thank You for Your wisdom and knowledge that You give to us.  May we each be responsible to do with it what is best for the Kingdom of God.

Link of the Day
Why Do I Sell Products on the Site?

Blessings on you as you continue your quest for health and wellness.

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