Make Me Love Something I Hate

I woke up this morning, like most mornings, to the low buzzing of my Fitbit alarm. I bummed around on my phone for a little while before getting out of bed. Then, I walked to the kitchen and put a kettle of water on for my morning coffee, which I brewed with an Aeropress. Then, I sat down with my phone, sipped my coffee and completed my morning ritual by reading The Skimm.

Let me pause here to say, I hate email. A lot. If email is the digital equivalent of the postal service, then notifications, marketing blasts, and newsletters are the junk mail of the Internet. An annoyance that serves only to illicit an eyeroll from me as I dumb them in the (digital) trash. I tell you this to punctuate a point: The Skimm is the one email I absolutely must read every day. Not out of obligation, but out of compulsion.

The Skimm isn’t a standard email newsletter. It’s a subtle melange of news and sass that informs me about whats going on and elicits many a chuckle as I savor my morning joe. The Skimm starts with a humorous quote and some color commentary about said quote. This quote immediately brings a smile to my face. Now, I’m awake.

Then comes the most important story of the day. It’s important to note that this section is structured flawlessly. They start with a one sentence summary of the story. Then, there’s a reader’s digest section explaining the main points, followed by “The Skimm” section, which gives a succinct rundown.

Then, The Skimm uses some sassy “What to say” questions to tell you everything else you need to know for the day. It’s amazing.

In a lot of ways, The Skimm is a shining example of how to do an email newsletter right. It starts by understanding its audience. The sections are short and sweet. They know that you’ll be reading it in the morning and they make it easily digestible. It employs the right amount of humor, which helps you wake up while also getting prepared for the day. It’s using one of the worst communication methods ever invented to deliver something so special it elevates the whole of email out of irrelevance.

You might get the impression that I’m swooning from all the hyperbole. But, that’s kind of the point. The Skimm took something I can’t stand and turned it into something I love. If only there were a business that could do that for laundry. My only regret is I that I didn’t write this “review” in an appropriately sassy voice.