Nominet To Begin Emailing .CO.UK Domain Owners About .UK

From 15 September, Nominet will begin emailing registrants with rights to a short .uk domain under the .uk 5-year reservation mechanism.  This step is part of a wider programme of communication and outreach committed to as part of the launch of .uk, and reflects Nominet’s commitment to inform the existing registrants of the additional rights now connected to their domain/s.

Emails will be sent in batches according to account, to give registrars certainty about when their customers are likely to receive an email. Timings and email text are available on Registrar Resources.

The email focuses only on informing eligible registrants of their new right-of-reservation. Nominet encourages registrars to continue engaging with customers about the benefits of short .uk domains – the UK Domain Family Brand Toolkit is available here and Nominet welcomse further suggestions about how they can support registrars in promoting .uk.

Nominet Q&As

• Who are you emailing?

We’re emailing registrants of UK domains (.co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, etc) that hold a right to the new, short .uk equivalent of their current domain under our 5-year reservation mechanism.

• What are you saying?

We’re emailing to let eligible registrants know that:

o   The short .uk equivalent of their UK domain has been reserved for them

o   This reservation is free, and they are under no obligation to pay anything extra (unless they choose to register the short .uk domain)

o   They should contact their domain registrar or hosting company if they wish to register the short .uk domain. However, they have plenty of time to think about it as the reservation will last until 10 June 2019(provided they continue their existing domain registration).

The text of the email is available here.

• When will you be sending these emails?

We plan to begin emailing registrants in the week commencing 15 September 2014 and expect to finish in November. Emails will be sent in batches according to registrar account – specific dates are viewable here.

• Why are you emailing?

We made a commitment to do what we can to let people know about the additional rights now associated with their domain. This email is part of a wider effort to let eligible registrants know about .uk’s 5-year free reservation mechanism, to provide reassurance and help ensure they’re aware of the opportunity to exercise this right if they choose to do so.

• What else are you doing to let people know?

Our dedicated website, dotuklaunch.uk, was launched in January to inform people about the new domains and the reservation rights held by existing customers. We continue to work with domain registrars to inform customers about the changes. All communications and media outreach around the launch of .uk domains has also included information about the reservation mechanism.

• Why is Nominet allowed to email registrants?

Registrants enter into a contract with Nominet when they register a .uk domain name, and the email is directly in regard to additional rights now associated with that existing registration.

• Do you think this approach will be effective in informing registrants about the reservation mechanism?

In some instances, yes, however not everyone will read the email, and we encourage domain registrars to discuss the .uk reservation mechanism with their customers themselves. The email is one aspect of a wider programme of communications aimed at letting registrants know about the .uk reservation mechanism.