Skimm Ahead’ with The Skimm’s New Subscription Product for iPhone

Imagine quitting your day job to create an email newsletter. Fast forward three-and-a-half years and you have more than 3.5 million active subscribers and

Imagine quitting your day job to create an email newsletter. Fast forward three-and-a-half years and you have more than 3.5 million active subscribers and 12,000 ambassadors sharing your weekday newsletter with their friends and social networks. That’s what happened to Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, the founders of The Skimm, who are now taking their popular email newsletter to the next step – subscriptions!

“The Skimms” introduced the new subscription product, Skimm Ahead, yesterday. Skimm Ahead for iPhone is different than The Daily Skimm, the weekday newsletter with yesterday’s and today’s news you need to start your day. “Skimm Ahead will make it easier to be smarter about your future,” says the announcement.

“The future’s in the palm of your hand. Literally. Because when it comes to knowing what’s up, it’s sink or Skimm. You’re welcome,” the announcement says in true Skimm-esque fashion.

Subscription News: Skimm Ahead with The Skimm's New Subscription App for iPhone — Photo courtesy of The Skimm

Essentially, Skimm Ahead integrates with your iPhone calendar, adding important dates for things like the GOP and Democratic conventions, what time the State of the Union is, and when the new season of Orange is the New Black will air on Netflix. Skimm Ahead also includes the daily newsletter, so you can read it on your iPhone in an app rather than your email inbox.

Available for download from the App Store, Skimm Ahead is $2.99 a month with the first month is free. At launch, Skimm Ahead is only available for the iPhone, but The Skimms say “stick with us for more,” so we anticipate an Android version is on its way soon.

Insider Take:

We are avid readers of The Skimm. It is often the first thing we read in the morning, giving us highlights from yesterday’s news and telling us what we need to know today. It is interesting, fun and a bit sarcastic – making even the worst news a bit more palatable. The Skimm also offers occasional contests, recommendations and promotions to encourage Skimm’bassadors to share their newsletter.

With a growing audience, this is a great time for The Skimms to capitalize on their popularity, and it is smart for them to start with a simple subscription product at a low price. They can test it, tweak it and gauge its popularity before adding more subscription services to their brand, a smart move by these savvy twenty-somethings. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

Filed in Business Strategy, Industry Announcements, News, Newsletters, Subscriber Acquisition, Subscription Apps

Dana E. Neuts

Dana Neuts is Subscription Insider's Editorial Director, covering our daily subscription news as well as member features, case studies, premium content, and reports. Dana is also a writer, editor, marketer and communications professional. Her work has appeared in AARP Bulletin, The Seattle Times, Seattle Business, 425 Business, 425 Magazine, South Sound Magazine, Northwest Travel and more. Her specialties include business writing, community news, senior issues, travel and, of course, subscriptions!