Aly's Hump Day Newsletter: So many great job leads -- also what I'm working on, and today's tip of the day!
Aly's Hump Day Newsletter: So many great job leads -- also what I'm working on, and today's tip of the day!
Happy Wednesday!
I wanted to share — mission accomplished! — everything I mentioned on my to-do list yesterday was successfully completed.
And I want to thank all of you. Because as helpful as keeping to an agenda is to me, accountability is even more helpful. Once I put into the world that those tasks had to be taken care of yesterday, I wasn’t going to not complete those tasks!
So maybe in a future newsletter we should discuss the importance of accountability partners…tell your friends you will do something, and they’ll know if you don’t! It works!
And, if you all need it, I’m always happy to be YOUR accountability partner in your own tasks.
Last night, my good friend Amber Love Bond suggested that I start watching The Bear on Hulu. She mentioned that she loved it because of its realistic portrayal of what working in a kitchen is like, and suggested I give it a try. I was immediately intrigued and tuned in that same night. (Even though I’m also currently watching BBC’s Life After Life, and that’s a bit of a context switch - but more on that in a minute!).
The Bear is so good! Celebrity chefs and gorgeous food photography often make the restaurant world look endlessly glamorous, but this show is a whole lot more gritty. It shares the often dark, often depressing, always intense and chaotic atmosphere, and I’m only about 3 episodes in at this point, but ANYONE who works in food or restaurants (be it media, PR, or just people who are interested) need to watch it.
For today’s tip, I’d like to talk a bit about why I try to avoid context switching.
On the average day, I’m juggling several stories, 800 or so emails, a constant barrage of text messages and phone calls, and usually an onslaught of Zooms and meetings or events and dinners to prepare for.
It’s always tempting to try to work on multiple things simultaneously. And, I often try to do it. I might be answering an email at the same time as I text a friend and listen in on a Zoom about olive sourcing.
But the reality is when you engage in context switching, it’ll take more time than you’ve lost to return to the original task after an interruption. That’s a waste of useful time.
Essentially, by trying to do multiple things at once, you’ll actually take longer to do ALL the things than if you had decided to do one thing, complete that thing, and move on to the next thing.
So, take things one thing at a time. Do those emails. Finish that story. Then move to the next story. But try to do one thing at a time versus six things at the same time. You’ll actually get everything done faster!
Job Leads
So many people sent me job leads after I mentioned I was open to them yesterday. Going to share just a few right here — but feel free to send yours any time. They are always welcome, and always free, whether you are a free or paid subscriber, it does not matter - and feel free to forward them to a friend who may be interested, whether or not they are a subscriber. Interested in helping as many people as possible.
KLG Public Relations is hiring a Senior Account Supervisor. The ideal candidate should be entrepreneurial in nature with 6+ years of PR experience. The candidate must be an ambitious self-starter and multitasker with excellent client management skills and strong media contacts across both spirits and lifestyle media to represent high-profile brands. The role requires account management including but not limited to proactive and reactive media relations; strategy development, budget management, client service, creative writing (press releases, media alerts) and creative brainstorming. The position is NYC based. Currently requires 2 days in the office. Email kate@klgpr.com for more information - please tell her Aly Walansky sent you, if you email!
UPRISE Media is looking for a Junior Publicist, Consumer Brands. This role is responsible for garnering top-tier coverage for the agency’s clients. You will work with a team of professionals to provide strategic PR programs for their consumer-facing clients. The ideal candidate will not be afraid to pick up the phone and pitch media. Also, the candidate will be responsible for drafting all written material for clients including press releases, pitches and award applications. UPRISE Media is a 360˚ full-service marketing, public relations and creative agency for luxury, premium and digital brands, as well as leading e-commerce giants. Applicants can reach out to matthew@uprisemgmt.com.
ECHOS Communications currently looking two fill two roles - Account Executive or Senior Account Executive level. Positions are fully remote and candidates would support a group of active lifestyle and outdoor brands. Salary range $50k to $70k depending on experience. More info here
Newly published or freshly updated stories
The Kitchn: Salt & Straw Is Releasing a Line of Culinary Perfume That You Can Spray on Both You and Your Ice Cream
TODAY.com: Where to score the best 4th of July food freebies and discounts
RetailMeNot: All the Best Fourth of July Sales to Shop Now (2022)
RetailMeNot: 13 Stores That Let You Bring in Old Clothes for Recycling
RetailMeNot: Stores Open Fourth of July + Fourth of July Store Hours
TripSavvy: The 9 Best Sedona Hotels of 2022
If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares tagging @alywalansky and the outlet.
What I’m working on now:
Be sure to read the below list carefully. Many are stories I posted about yesterday, but some of yesterday's stories are no longer listed and a few new ones have been added since yesterday. This (below) is everything that is still a currently open opportunity as of today.
Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.
TODAY.com
I’m putting out preliminary feelers for a potential story on National Ice Cream Day deals at chains. If you have any deals brewing, please tell me what the deal is, when it’s good for (is it just for National Ice Cream Day or all of Ice Cream Month?), and how to claim the deal.
National French Fry Day is ALSO coming up and I’m putting feelers out for the same as above for that too.
RetailMeNot
I'm writing a roundup of student discounts. I am updating this article, so if your client is listed among the existing deals, I’d love it if you can confirm for me whether it has changed or not. But I’m very open to new deals too!
I’m also working on a story on best reusable cups freebies and discounts - establishments that give some kind of BYO cup discount. These types of discounts fell by the wayside for COVID, but have since started coming back.
Share the love
Every morning, I share what I’m working on that day and links to newly published stories and send it right into your inbox — for free! I also share productivity tips, job leads, links to volunteer and mentoring opportunities, recipes, and more — all always free.
Please share this newsletter with a friend or colleague today. Every Friday, I randomly choose one new free subscriber who signed on that week. They will be automatically upgraded to a paid subscription for free — and, if they tell me who referred them to this Substack, that person will as well! These opportunities only get better if we share them with our friends.
Paid subscriptions get additional benefits, such as my weekly industry insights newsletters, subscriber Zoom chats, and much more.
Virtual consulting sessions...
Looking for a consult as you plan your next event or trip? Or just want someone to take a look at the pitches you’ve been sending and give some feedback?
I've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff (I even recently joined in on an agency’s team retreat right here in Brooklyn — it was so fun and I made so many new friends!) and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another.
If you are interested in setting anything up for your own team in the coming months, please email me and we'll get something on the books! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts. If you are a freelance publicist and want to join in with a few other freelance publicist friends and set something up, we can do that as well!
On the fence over whether this is a good fit for your team? Here’s some feedback I received from people who I have worked with recently:
"Aly’s advice and insight is invaluable to our team, not only is she incredibly knowledgeable, she is approachable, generous, and kind too. While we read every one of her newsletters, we decided to go one step further and invited Aly to host a Q&A with our agency. During the session, we felt comfortable asking her everything and anything. She went above and beyond, providing examples and reasoning for each answer, and the team walked away with an abundance of new insight, tips, and tricks, plus a new confidence in handling some of the most crucial parts of our jobs." Sacha Bell, Rachel Harrison Communications
"Looking for a brilliant writer that always goes above and beyond? Look no further than Aly! She is an incredible teacher, tells it exactly how it is and is so generous in sharing her knowledge. She knows what she wants from publicists, is very clear on her needs and expectations, and how to best support one another. Most of all, her kind personality jumps off the page, and her giggle and smile are infectious. In this consistently changing world of media, it’s so refreshing to know someone so genuine.” Kirsten Wanket
“Aly has very kindly agreed to join a few sessions for us talking to both smaller and larger internal groups, and it has been incredibly helpful for our team to understand more about her process, and garner best practices that we leverage as we work on various programs. From sharing dos and don’ts for virtual and in-person events to pitching tips, Aly is a pro and always so thoughtful in her responses. And her own first-hand knowledge has helped us all to better understand the work process for freelancers and how we can most effectively work with other freelancers like Aly. We always appreciate her time and insights!” Erin Delahanty, Edelman
“I would highly recommend booking a virtual consulting session with Aly for an agency of any size! She offers up to date perspective on everything from the affiliates to how to get your pitches read to timing your pitching correctly. These virtual consulting sessions literally save you time trying to figure out what the media is looking for and give your team an immediate edge. Aly took her time and answered questions from the team. She is super friendly and you can tell she genuinely wants to create a win-win relationship between the media and publicists. Our team loved having Aly on and we cannot wait to have her back! It was a blast!” Leah Cybulski, ChicExecs
“Aly was able to join our agency for a PR Perspectives chat and not only was it so much fun, but it was so informative! Keeping a pulse on the constantly changing media landscape is so important and we loved the insights and expertise Aly was able to share with us. Highly recommend setting up a chat with her!” Jennifer Haile, Dentsu Creative PR
“I am always looking for ways to share new ideas and learning opportunities with our team to improve how we pitch and offer value to journalists and in turn their audience. Aly's no nonsense approach gave us accessible advice about the best way to communicate to media, what formats works best, and basically how we can share our client news in a way that will get us noticed and included in stories. Would do again in a heartbeat!” Samantha Davidson, Say My Name Communications
“For my team’s first hybrid media event for a product launch in the COVID era, Aly quickly jumped on a Zoom and dropped great insights that drove many of the event elements. The direction she provided helped us increase attendance and gave her journalist colleagues a more memorable experience. It was a bonus that she was so easy and fun to talk to.” Apryl Ash, Approach Marketing
Now, it’s your turn! Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com to get something on my schedule for this summer.
Are you confused about affiliate marketing?
If you are having trouble learning how to navigate issues of affiliate marketing (trust me, we've all been there!), you may want to try out my friend Sarah Karger, a publicist, and former editor Dana Baardsen (and all-around fab girl!)'s Ultimate Masterclass and Introduction to Affiliate Marketing for Publicists. It's a brilliant course and it'll answer all your questions (including some you didn't know you had!)
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aly