Sharing some big news: Girls' Night In is now Downtime!

Six years and 150,000 readers later, we're making our debut on Substack to fold in more community, intimacy, and fun.

[This note was originally emailed out to the Girls’ Night In newsletter on June 6th, 2023.]

Hi! Alisha here, the creator of the Girls’ Night In newsletter. I’m popping in to share some big and exciting news…

First, some quick background. As some of you know, I took an extended break from running the day-to-day of Girls' Night In this year. After six years of running and growing this newsletter, I wanted to decompress and figure out what was next for me; I was burned out from trying to grow a "big media business" (a pressure I placed on myself...). I handed over the keys to the talented Aliza Abarbanel, who's done a top job as Executive Editor each week, and I had the full intention of stepping back indefinitely. 

My break (which I was so grateful to take!) helped me realize that actually…I really miss writing and creating and connecting with readers! It helped me realize that rather than stepping away completely, I could make a few changes to make things feel fun, fresh, and sustainable again. With that, I’m excited to share this next set of announcements...

1) Girls’ Night In will now be called Downtime (!). And it'll be written primarily by...me. 

I’ve wanted to change the name for a while now for many reasons: acknowledging that it's about more than "staying in," inclusivity, and honestly, just wanting a fresh start. I love it and I hope you do, too. 

Second, I've missed writing more personally (and it sounds like many of you miss that personal writing, too) like I did when I first started the newsletter in 2017, so I'm thrilled to step back into the writing chair.

2) This newsletter is moving to Substack!

Based on our reader survey, LOTS of you mentioned missing the community feeling of the newsletter, so I'm excited to try out Substack, which has some classic blog-like features that can help like comments, discussion threads, and more. You’ll still get the newsletter in your inbox like always, but readers who want to be a bit more involved can now do that. Yay.

3) I’m introducing a paid subscription tier with some great perks.

Not to worry: Free subscribers will *still* receive the weekly Friday newsletter you know and love most weeks, as long as there's a supporting sponsor.

Paid subscribers, on top of getting every Friday send, will get bonus newsletters (let's say weekly-ish for now) that'll feature a rotating mix of essays, interviews, and deep dives on topics ranging from career, balance, style, books & reading, and more. (And all paid-subscriber content will be ad-free.)

Most exciting of all is the chance to connect with other readers: paid subscribers will get access to comments on posts, chat threads, exclusive giveaways, and other fun perks in the works. I’ll share more on Friday, but if you’re ever so eager, you can go ahead and sign up here. :) We have such a great group of thoughtful, funny, and curious readers here, so I’m excited to spark more conversations in this space!

I'll also be offering comped subs if you can’t afford it right now. I'll send free previews of paid content so you know what to expect, too if you’re on the fence. I’ve got lots more dreams for paid perks: a fun online community, reader meetups, events, a return of the book club 📚, audio posts, and a podcast (yes, finally!!). It’s exciting that supporters could help make these a reality.

Why a paid tier? 

I’d love for Downtime to become a majority reader-supported newsletter. Going paid will help keep it going while respecting your desire for fewer ads, which was a top request from our reader surveys. I don’t think ads are outright bad and I take great care in working with partners I feel good about, but I do think there can be a finer balance.

Second, I'm looking forward to sharing more personal writing with a smaller group of readers at the paid tier. A large audience can sometimes feel paralyzing when sharing vulnerable thoughts or ideas! Cultivating a positive, shared space where we can freely swap ideas and stories would be a dream (and thoughtful critique is always welcome).

Thanks for reading and thank you so, so much for being here, whether you’re a new reader or you’ve been here since 2017. This newsletter’s been such a special part of my life, from my twenties and now into my thirties, and I can’t wait for this next evolution.

— xo Alisha Ramos

P.S. Let’s give a big round of applause to Aliza Abarbanel who stepped in as Executive Editor during my months off and did a fantastic job. Thank you, Aliza! And some good news for us all: She’ll be supporting me and Downtime in this new chapter with editing and some writing. Yay. 

P.P.S. If you’ve got any q’s, you can always email me at alisha@downtimenewsletter.com.

Read more about Downtime here, and don’t forget to subscribe below.