More than 2 years ago I picked up the domain 90DayDiet.com. I liked the domain, it was for sale and my intention was to do something for myself with it. Until recently, I didn’t do anything with it.
In January I received an email from a free Yahoo email address inquiring about the domain. The person was interested buying the domain from me. The conversation was short, but interesting.
Buyer: “I was interested in buying the domain name 90DAYDIET.COM. Do you still own it and if so would you like to sell it?”
Me: “Yes, I still own the domain. If I would like to sell it depends on the offer. What would you be offering for this domain?”
Buyer: “I don’t want to insult you. Let me know what you have in mind.”
Me: “I’m not easily offended, I would just say No if the offer is too low. Why don’t you give it a try…”
Buyer: “300???”
Me: ”That price won’t do it for this domain. Mid range 4 figure is more what I was thinking. Seems we are far apart.”
Not-to-be-Buyer: “Thanks”
Through this conversation I already learned a lot.
First of all, I hardly do business with people I don’t know. Sending an email with a free email account might give you an advantage as a buyer, as the owner would not know who you are, I simply be more reluctant to do business with you.
Second, the almost-buyer didn’t want to increase their offer, as they might have figured out I knew what I was talking about. Right… I know nothing about the valuation of domain names, I simply see potential in them from my own perspective.
Third, it reminded me I had an awesome domain laying around on the shelf I needed to start developing. And what better usage of the domain 90 Day Diet, then doing some sort of weight loss program yourself.
My intentions are to use the site I created to keep track of the program I developed for myself, which is still being worked on BTW, and the progress of loosing weight and getting back in shape. You can read more about it at 90daydiet.com.
Diet Brand Infringement?
A couple of days into my program, 70 day to go, I see some search engine traffic coming in on my site. Specifically with the keyword 90 day diet. That’s funny, more people looking for a 90 day program to loose weight? So I search myself on the keywords and see my site is ranking #3.
Turns out there is a program developed by a Dr. Oz, called the Dr. Oz 90 Day Diet.
The Dr. Oz 90-Day Diet is an extension of the previous diet recommendations by the same author, simply named the Dr. Oz Diet. As heard and seen in many public arenas, including Oprah and various national news programs, Dr. Oz’s prescription for health and well-being is based on nutritious food choices and moderate physical fitness with a few twists added here and there.
Since I didn’t know the diet existed, I feel a little stupid I didn’t do my research well enough. Overall, if the program is trademarked, I could be in trouble… Luckily, the official name is different:
Officially titled "The 90-Day Live Longer, Feel Younger Plan", this diet program focuses on healthful lifestyle changes.
My site does not carry advertisements, YET! I was thinking of adding these in the short run, just after I established the site a little more and added more quality content. Right now, the site is simply still too slim to have a meaningful advertisement strategy. Although it would be funny to see all the relevant Google Ads on the site!
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