Aly's Monday Newsletter: Here's Everything I'm working on today!
Top off that coffee...it's a lot.
Happy Monday!
It's a busy Monday, with a bunch of stories pending and a few Zooms on my schedule (both attending, and also hosting later on -- scroll down for more on that!).
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Friday night, I got to be reunited with one of my oldest friends (of around 20 years!), and we celebrated the occasion by attending opening weekend of the new location of one of my favorite local Park Slope pasta spots.
As planned, after that, I spent the rest of the weekend catching up on work, my window garden (my Thai basil is my current pride and joy in case you were wondering), and, of course, puppy time.
What's cooking?
You know that yummy clear soup with the onions and mushrooms that you get as an appetizer at sushi spots or hibachi? I tried to recreate it yesterday and had pretty great results -- check it out today on my Instagram stories before it disappears!
Special subscription deal!
For one week only, I'm offering a staggering 50% off annual subscriptions. This is a special deal I'm providing just because...we can all use a bit of extra love these days. Paid subscriptions get you access to added value such as Q&As, industry insight newsletters, and dedicated subscriber Zoom events where you can Ask Me Anything. Already have a subscription? Thank you! This is a good time to send a friend a gift or get a subscription for someone on your team.
Speaking of subscriber Zooms...
The next Ask Aly Anything zoom is tonight at 5 PM ET - Monday, May 16, and there's still some room...if you are a paid subscriber and want more information, please email me for the link!
Be my neighbor!
There's a studio apartment available in the brownstone I live in in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn. This brownstone is on a safe and quiet tree-lined block and a sweet price for this great neighborhood. Let me know if you are interested in more information and I'll forward the listings your way. I have no skin in this game, except I want to up my ratio of fun neighbors!
Full disclosure: This is going to be a small studio, about the same size as mine, so this is probably best for someone living solo, as a couple would have to spend *a lot* of time on top of each other, and not in the fun way.
Newly published
Clean Plates: The Healthiest Fast Food Orders For When You’re On a Road Trip, According To Dietitians
Clean Plates: 7 Expert-Approved Ways to Avoid a Blood Sugar Spike (without Avoiding Carbs)
Mashed: Mistakes You're Making With Your Oatmeal
RetailMeNot: 10 Father’s Day Gifts for Every Type of Dad
YourTango: 6 Important Reasons Your Vagina Smells Kinda Funky
If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares tagging @alywalansky and the outlet.
Here's what I'm working on:
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.
Clean Plates
For this story, I'm rounding up the Best Plant-Based Meats for The Grill, According to Vegans -- instead of interviewing nutritionists/dietitians for this one, I'm interested this time in just which grilling products vegans actually seriously *love*.
SO if you are a vegan, know a vegan, etc, please have them email me! And I'd LOVE to hear from some plant-based chefs for this as well. For people who aren't famous - but are regular folks who are currently plant-based, I'd love to know how long they've been plant based. So an example:
Aly W, a writer who lives in Brooklyn, has been vegan for 0 years. "My favorite vegan meat is actual steak," she says. "Because I could go vegan if my life depended on it."
Got it?
Also, just kidding. Please only respond if you are currently plant based and not just being obnoxious like me.
Also for Clean Plates, I'm working on a story on Why you should avoid certain sunscreen types for your health, according to dermatologists: This story will focus on chemical vs physical sunscreens (think physical blockers w/o nano particles). I'm looking to chat with environmentally-minded derms for this one. While I FULLY agree any sunscreen is better than no sunscreen, I'd love to focus on what's actually good for us in this one.
Today.com
For Today.com, I'm working on the following stories:
I'm rounding up restaurant chains doing Memorial Day deals/freebies
Also restaurants open on Memorial Day (and their hours).
Restaurant deals/freebies for National Donut Day (which is the first week in June)
Looking ahead: I'm also going to be rounding up Father's Day and graduation related deals/freebies at chain restaurants (so if you happen to have those now feel free to send ahead!)
If pitching me restaurant deals/discounts for any of these holidays, please be sure to include what the deal is, how to claim the deal, and any disclaimers, as well as exactly how long it lasts and where it’s good. (I run into A LOT of last minute changes on these deals, so please be sure what you are pitching me is actually the deal being offered before proceeding…it helps us BOTH down the line.)
Forbes.com
1 - As promised, I am working on a bunch of Father’s Day gift guides. My topics are:
Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Foodie Gifts For A Dad Who Loves History -- This can go in a lot of different directions. Perhaps it's a food or spirit with some incredible history behind it (tell me what that history is) - but maybe it's also a food/drink that celebrates a moment in history, like a commemorative bottle of wine of whiskey from some historic event.
Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Gifts For The Aspirational Home Chef
Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Martini Gifts
To pitch me for any of these guides, please email the following:
Which guide you are pitching
Name of product
description
link where sold, price
LINK to high-res image (no attachments please)
Unfortunately, due to the volume of responses I receive, if you do not have all these components, you cannot be considered (and if you think a pitch is just emailing me a stack of URLs, then you really can’t be considered).
2 - Unless you've been living under a rock, you are probably aware that Her Majesty the Queen's Platinum Jubilee is being celebrated over the next few weeks. This is an incredibly historic event. For Forbes, I'm doing a roundup of cocktails/dishes being served at restaurants/bars/hotels around the world in honor of this MOMENTOUS occasion (sigh...what I'd give to be in London to celebrate...I can't even tell you.) - To pitch me for this story, please send me the following:
1 - Name of dish/drink
2 - Where being served (must exist on the menu or as a specialty at a bar or restaurant)
3 - Description
4 - Quote about the drink/dish (please don't forget to include a name of who is being quoted)
5 - High-res image of the dish/drink
Would love it if all pitches for this can be sent by end of day today, Monday 5/16.
The Complete Guide to Keto
ATTENTION RDs: I again have had RDs fall through at the last minute on a story. So, I'm seeking RDs to comment asap for a story on Meals for All Eaters -- How to Feed a Food-Loving Family. It's essentially advice on creating meals that allow one person to be on keto while everyone else is eating non-keto meals. I'd love to talk to an R.D. re: how to do this, and also how to balance nutrition for kids/teenagers/men and a keto dieter. I would love a RD or nutritionist to comment on what a kid's dinner or other family members dinner should look like or any other advice they might have (including that if you're going to do keto you should eat healthy fats not a bag of pork rinds). I'm also going to do a sidebar on frozen dinners -- those you can find in a grocery store/Walmart/Target/Whole Foods. Deadline for this one - tomorrow, May 17.
To pitch me for ANY of these stories, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com (and start a new thread, please!).
Virtual consulting sessions...
Over the last six months or so, I've popped into a fair amount of PR team meetings and made myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. 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!
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