There Is A 260,000-Person Wait List For A New Email App
APTry and think of something less sexy than your inbox.
It's difficult to do. And yet, a new app called Mailbox has created so much demand, there's a 260,000-person long wait list to download the app.
Mailbox is an alternative email app that first made a stir in December. If you signed up back then for the app, the wait-list was still about 67,000 people long.
Email organizers are not a new idea. Many entrepreneurs have tried and failed to fix the inbox. So what makes Mailbox, which promises to put "email in its place", any different?
Mailbox is a free iPhone app that promises to help you reach inbox zero. It turns emails into a to-do list. For example, if you want to deal with a message later, you can swipe to remove it. The message will reappear the next day.
Our gadget team tried Mailbox and called it "one of the best productivity/email management apps we've ever come across."
Here's a walk-through of the app for more on how it works.
But the real question is this:
How did Mailbox create so much demand pre-launch?
First, it teased this video:
Then, blogs like TechCrunch went wild.
Next, it announced a brilliant "reservation" scheme to keep the hype going and waited an unnecessarily long time to launch.
Here's how the reservation system worked:
- Head to the website and sign up, to secure your place in line.
- Mailbox sends you a text message with your reservation number, which is your place in line.
- Along with the reservation number you'll also receive a private code, which you'll need to claim your reservation when the app is ready for download.
Then, Mailbox acted modest. "We're so excited by all of the interest in Mailbox!" the site reads.
Voila. 260,000 people signed up for the app to see what all of the fuss was about.
We're in line with them. Only 257,512 people to go...
Business Insider/Alyson Shontell