theSkimm

What theSkimm does

theSkimm is a digital media company founded in 2011/2012 and headquartered in New York, operating a portfolio of email newsletters and companion content verticals targeted primarily at millennial and Gen Z women. Its core products include the Daily Skimm (daily news briefing covering news, work, care, money, and entertainment), Skimm Well + Good (weekly health and wellness), Well Played (weekly sports newsletter and vodcast covering NWSL, WNBA, NFL and athlete Q&As), Skimm Shopping (commerce deals newsletter with affiliate monetization), and Skimm Money (personal finance content), as well as the Off the Page virtual book club. The underlying platform is an email-first content management and distribution system that delivers curated newsletters to a stated subscriber base of 10+ million readers, supported by a website content hub, social channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest), and the Well Played podcast distributed via Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The business model is a hybrid of three streams: (i) affiliate commerce commissions from retail partners including Amazon, Walmart, Sephora, Ulta, Wayfair and Target embedded in shopping guides and product recommendations; (ii) sponsored branded content and creative services for advertisers such as Cash App, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Zoetis, Boston Scientific and Ally Bank, produced by an in-house Creative Studio that creates custom video and audio; and (iii) Skimm+, a premium subscription tier (plus.theskimm.com) offering exclusive content and virtual events. The company employs 51-100 people and was acquired by Everyday Health, Inc. (a Ziff Davis company) in March 2025, after raising approximately $28.4M in disclosed venture funding across multiple rounds from 2011-2019 with investors including Google Ventures, 21st Century Fox, RRE Ventures, Greycroft and Homebrew.

Name

theSkimm

Legal name

theSkimm

Website

https://theskimm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

theSkimm is a New York-based digital media company operating a portfolio of email newsletters and content verticals (Daily Skimm, Well Played, Skimm Well + Good, Skimm Shopping) reaching 10+ million primarily female readers, monetized through affiliate commerce, sponsored branded content, and the Skimm+ premium subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Media & Online Newsletters

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

Keywords

• Digital newsletters
• Women's media
• Daily news briefs
• Lifestyle content
• Affiliate commerce

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Affiliate Commerce: The company earns commissions through affiliate links embedded in shopping content. Product recommendations in articles and newsletters link to retail partners (Amazon, Walmart, Sephora, Ulta, Wayfair, Target) with tracked affiliate codes. The site features extensive shopping guides and product reviews with affiliate monetization.
2. Sponsored Content and Brand Partnerships: Branded content partnerships with companies like Cash App, Johnson & Johnson, Zoetis, Eli Lilly, and others. Articles are labeled as 'Together with' or sponsored content, featuring brand messaging within theSkimm's editorial format. The company also creates custom video and audio content for brand partners through its Creative Studio.
3. Skimm+ Subscription: Premium subscription product offering exclusive content, virtual events (like the Off the Page book club), and presumably ad-free or enhanced newsletter experience. The Skimm+ page at plus.theskimm.com suggests premium-only access to certain features including author Q&A events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

theSkimm is a digital media company that curates and delivers news, lifestyle, health, sports, money, and shopping content primarily to millennial and Gen Z women via email newsletters and a website. It monetizes through a premium subscription product (Skimm+), sponsored/paid brand content, and affiliate commerce links embedded within editorial content.

Product overview

theSkimm is a digital media company offering a portfolio of newsletter products and content verticals targeting women. The core offerings include the Daily Skimm (daily news briefing), Skimm Well + Good (weekly wellness), Well Played (weekly sports with podcast), and Skimm Shopping (deals/commerce). The company operates a freemium model with Skimm+ as a premium subscription tier offering exclusive content, the Off the Page virtual book club, and member events. Content covers news, health, sports, shopping, money, books, travel, beauty, and fitness verticals. The company was acquired by Everyday Health (a Ziff Davis company) in March 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 10+ million readers subscribe to theSkimm newsletters

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cash AppcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 May 2026Cash App sponsored content campaign titled '4 Simple Ways to Raise Money-Smart Kids (Starting Now)' featuring financial literacy content for families. The article promotes Cash App Families product with affiliate links and detailed product information. Content appears to be part of ongoing partnership between the brands targeting financially-conscious women readers.
• Johnson & JohnsoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerJohnson & Johnson sponsored content campaign 'Playing the Part: The Truth About Being Fine' addressing mental health themes. The partnership aligns the pharmaceutical brand with theSkimm's audience of women interested in health and wellness topics.
• ZoetisminorGTM or Marketing PartnerZoetis sponsored content about dog parenting and arthritis through their Librela product. The article 'The Dog Parenting Playbook' targets pet-owning readers interested in animal health.
• Eli LillycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerEli Lilly unbranded sponsored content about GLP-1 medications and eating on weight-loss medications. Multiple articles feature the pharmaceutical company's treatments for conditions like endometriosis and weight management, targeting theSkimm's health-interested female audience.
• Boston ScientificminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBoston Scientific sponsored content through the 'Asking for a Friend' series featuring patient stories about medical conditions and treatments. Partnership provides health content while featuring the medical device company's products.
• AmazoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor affiliate partner for commerce content. theSkimm features extensive Amazon product recommendations with affiliate links throughout shopping guides and product reviews, particularly during Prime Day and seasonal sales events.
• WalmartcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate commerce partner featured in shopping content and product recommendations. theSkimm links to Walmart products with affiliate tracking for commission on qualifying sales.
• Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Wayfair, TargetcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAffiliate retail partners for beauty, home, and general merchandise product recommendations. theSkimm earns commissions on sales driven through affiliate links in shopping guides and product reviews.
• Bookshop.orgminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBook retailer partner for the Off the Page virtual book club. Provides 15% discount codes for book club selections and serves as the preferred retailer for theSkimm's book-related content.
• Ally BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Well Played podcast, featuring brand integration within sports content. Ally Bank reaches theSkimm's female audience through sports-related content sponsorship.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bustle Digital Group: Bustle operates a portfolio of women-focused digital media brands including Bustle, Romper, and Inverse. Similar audience demographics, content categories, and revenue model with advertising and affiliate commerce as primary streams.
• Morning Brew: Morning Brew operates a similar newsletter-first digital media business model targeting professionals with daily curated content, monetized via sponsorships and recently expanded commerce. Highly comparable in GTM motion and revenue mix.
• PureWow: PureWow is a women-focused digital media company covering lifestyle, shopping, and wellness with heavy affiliate commerce and brand partnerships. Now owned by Dotdash Meredith (also Ziff Davis), making it a sister property and direct competitor for the same audience and advertisers.
• Well+Good: Well+Good is a wellness-focused digital media brand for women, covering health, fitness, and lifestyle. Also owned by Ziff Davis/Everyday Health, it is a sister property with overlapping content verticals (Skimm Well + Good directly competes here).
• Refinery29: Refinery29 is a digital media company targeting millennial and Gen Z women with content across news, entertainment, style, and wellness. Comparable in audience, content verticals, and monetization via branded content and commerce.
• POPSUGAR: POPSUGAR is a women-focused digital media brand covering celebrity, entertainment, beauty, fitness, and lifestyle with strong affiliate commerce and brand partnerships. Directly comparable audience and content monetization approach.

Broad incumbents

• Axios: Axios is a digital media company known for newsletter-first content distribution and Smart Brevity format. Comparable in GTM motion and email-first audience building, though broader demographic than theSkimm's female focus.
• The Daily Beast: The Daily Beast is a digital news and opinion site with newsletter products targeting engaged online readers. Comparable in digital media/news aggregation and newsletter monetization, though broader audience than theSkimm's female-skewed base.
• Dotdash Meredith: Dotdash Meredith is a large digital and print media portfolio owned by Ziff Davis, spanning brands like People, Better Homes & Gardens, and Investopedia. As a Ziff Davis sister property, it competes for the same female-skewed advertising budgets and offers a benchmark for content monetization at scale.

Emerging players

• Substack: Substack is a newsletter platform enabling individual creators to build subscription-based media businesses. While not a direct competitor in content, it represents an alternative model that captures audience attention and ad dollars from traditional newsletter media companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wellplayedbytheskimm
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheSkimm
• Instagraminstagram.com/theskimm
• Xx.com/theskimm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/theskimm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds9 records

Investors14 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about theSkimm