QUOTE OF THE SESSION
"One of our readers said it best, 'I can get behind a business that respects brunch.'" -- theSkimm co-founder Carly Zakin when asked why the weekday newsletter would not extend reporting to weekends.
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THE STORY
As part of the #AOLBUILD series, AOL's NY Office hosted roommates Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg. They were just 25 and 26 when they quit their day jobs and NBC -- but certainly not in vain.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
A short two-years later, the dynamic-duo are the proud co-founders of theSkimm: the daily e-mail newsletter that gives you everything you need to start your day. Distributed in the wee-hours of the morning, it's packed with fresh editorial content spanning across several verticals -- from tech to pop culture to politics -- and is delivered in a fun, easily-digestible format for readers.
WHERE DID THAT IDEA COME FROM?
The entrepreneurs never thought of "female millennial" as a term, but went on to learn about influence and purchasing power of this demographic. "Our friends always came to us for news updates, and we realize they didn't have a perfect news source."
ON HOW THEY'RE THE FASTEST GROWING NEWSLETTER IN THE WORLD...
"We created a voice, but also a community -- we're doubling down on user acquisition and maintaining our community," says Carly. "Our traffic and public relations is organic and has grown immensely through word-of-mouth."
...AND WHY THAT WITTY SUBJECT LINE ISN'T A COINCIDENCE
Realizing their target demographic -- millennials who check their phones first thing in the morning -- the co-founders wanted to ensure the subject line would be appealing...at 6am. "We ask, 'What would make me want to read this if I was half-asleep?'"