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Skimm Ahead — Gives you all the info you need for the future
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theSkimm is a fantastic example of an email-first startup (as @tomfme linked to). I've been eager to see if they build a mobile app and how it differs from the email that millions of women receive daily.
@dmweisberg -- very interesting to see that you're charging for the app. Makes a lot of sense and diversifies your revenue channels. How did you come to this decision ultimately?
@rrhoover @tomfme Thanks Ryan! We felt strongly that our users would be willing to pay for a meaningful utility that fits within their current routines and helps them be smarter about the future. That said, we knew we would need to test different price points before moving forward and did that during a few month beta period prior to launch. The good news was that our users were in fact willing to pay...allowing us to move forward confidently knowing that they truly valued the service and were willing to pay for it on a regular basis.
@dmweisberg I read theSkimm every morning (ever consider weekends?) and am already subscribed to Skimm Ahead. I'm 100% onboard and a self-proclaimed evangelist, but I have friends that aren't as enthusiastic... yet. Do you mind sharing why you didn't use a freemium model for Skimm Ahead (and launched with a trial strategy)?
@dkwendt @dmweisberg isn't the newsletter the free part? if you like the newsletter, you should have a higher chance to convert on the calendar app. it's a lifestyle calendar. Freemium apps aren't necessary if you have a way to market the app to highly qualified users, like an opt-in email list.
Hi Product Hunters-
3.5 years ago we quit our jobs and sent an email from our couch. For a year and a half, day in and day out it was the two of us at home or in coffee shops, stopping people in the street to sign up, wearing the same Skimm T shirt every day (we washed it), and emailing anyone and everyone asking them to sign up. We were steadily growing our userbase and accidentally creating a community.
That was a happy accident. That community is now well over 3.5 million active subscribers engaged at unprecedented rates and an army of over 12,000 Skimmbassadors.
And now we are so excited to share this next part of our Skimm journey with you.
We are launching Skimm Ahead, the first subscription service on the all new theSkimm for iPhone. Skimm Ahead puts the future into the palm of your hand. Literally.
The best part -- Skimm Ahead puts everything you need to know about the future directly into your iPhone calendar. Never again will you wonder when Beyonce tickets go on sale, what time the State of the Union is on, or when your favorite show is coming back on Netflix. It’s like your calendar ate a smart cookie.
Skimm Ahead is a subscription service for $2.99/month, less than what you pay at Starbucks a day. Plus, you can download it and get the first month free, because we’re nice like that.
Thanks for all of your support, we’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions!
-Carly & Danielle, theSkimm co-founders
Impressive... //what I like: embedding content into a calendar app in a useful manner in order to increase daily active usage...it's a similar tactic to the "newsletter inside inbox" and "bot inside chat apps" concepts. //what I'm unclear about: how this integration affects my calendar organization...will I now miss meetings and appointments?
I'm a daily The Skimm addict so I'm looking forward to at least trying this out.
Love, love this! I'm a total junkie of theSkimm and a Skimmbassador, and as a content marketer I've always wondered how they build the newsletter's editorial calendar (as much as they can with a daily email about breaking news). Testing out the calendar the past few weeks felt like I was seeing inside theSkimm's brain - a calendar of the references and spoilers I'm going to need to understand down the line.
Also, this past debate marked the first time I didn't tune in late because I forgot about it until seeing live tweets. The calendar's notification popped up and I remembered to change the channel in time. :) And just the presence of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" with a red wine emoji on my week last week made me happy every time I looked at it!
I have to say, it took me a good couple of minutes to figure out what you do. I think there might be too much wording and fluff before it gets to the point. I came to the site actively looking to find out more so i stayed but others might not. As the product name suggests, most of us skimm text now and so i missed the point, well because, i was skimming. I know its not the point of the product but i did think it was a news product to send me the news i'm interested in so i don't need to spend time looking. You might want to fix the copy on the homepage so that its more succinct and direct with a nice CTA. Otherwise i like the product, its cool. If its going to organise my brain, me likey!
Really.really.really smart @Danielle. I have been following Skimm for minute now. Even 1% of those 3.5 MAU's is a nice residual income. I do think offering a yearly option (if you haven't already) would be interesting because you're die-hard-Skimmer's would most likely take you up on it. Also, finding ways for people to Share Skimm for a free month credit would be cool too. I know I share it naturally, but give me an incentive and I'm more likely to do it. Lastly doing a promo around Christmas for FREE 1 MONTH of SKIMM on the app if they create an account with you would be successful. Most people won't pay for an app even if it's $.99 unless it's a game. However offering a trial would get you there. Just some thoughts on things we learned from running app business.
It's not clear to me how is decided what I'll get to see. Preferably I'd like to enter my preferences before being charged money, so I have an idea of what to expect from the app. It sounds very abstract to me now.
This looks interesting but the website doesn't really get into details - can I choose what kind of events I get notified about? Or is it curated by the editors?
You are talking about the community being an integral part of the experience - can I follow people, have them suggest events to add to my calendar? Can I curate events I'd recommend?
This seems to be about announcements more than actual events to go to - are you planning to monetise by promoting announcements of partner companies? Can I create my own announcements and share them with the community?
I'm intrigued but definitely need more precise information on the app ;)
I'm a sucker for these kinds of products. Sign me up already!
Edit: For a European user, this adds... Well, lacks context. Also the news is already old before it reaches my morning drowsiness, which makes it slightly more annoying than my alarm clock.
The tongue-in-cheek naming convention is nicely done though and makes news a bit more fun, but the interface of the app could use some inspiration and a dash of paint!
I saw some screenshots of what the app looks like and it looks amazing. I can't wait for it to come out in Android. Please let us non-iPhone users in on the fun soon!
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