Aly's Newsletter: Fire up that coffee, it's time to get back to work!
Aly's Newsletter: Fire up that coffee, it's time to get back to work!
Guess what? Looking for RDs to comment, once again!
Good morning and happy Tuesday!
It's really rare I take a long weekend and actually...treat it like a long weekend. As with most people in our field, I tend to work at least part of every weekend. I always have.
However, I do understand the value of normalizing taking a “you day” and taking time to take care of yourself (in fact I saw a cute meme to the point over the weekend on social media). While I did work part of this weekend, there was a full 24-hour stretch that I didn't open my computer at all! I went out to lunch, I visited a farmers market, I did some shopping...and, get this, the world did not end.
Baby steps...right?
Favorite photo from this weekend: How adorable is Lily, especially how much she HATES selfies? Clearly she didn’t get *that* from me.
Some housekeeping
This weekend's industry insights newsletter was about how to get media to actually want to say yes to your deskside requests. You can still read it and all previous newsletters here.
And just like that...tomorrow is June! That means the next subscriber Zoom event will be coming up very soon. At these Zooms, we chat about everything from planning events and trips to mailers and the right and wrong way to followup and build meaningful media relationships. I'll touch base with additional info on the date and time and how to RSVP in a newsletter later this week.
In funny news, I’ve been working on my own little fun project of my own and am planning a small event for it right now. It’s so exciting and different to do so from the other side! At least I go to enough of them that I know what people like!
TV chat
We haven't really chatted about TV much lately (outside of...god, I'm still recovering from This Is Us). Is anyone watching Conversations With Friends? It's on Hulu and it's intense but I'm INTO it. (Audience warning: It gets pretty explicit at times, so you may want to wait till the kiddos go to sleep, if you have any around.)
But, back to the grind...here's what's going on today!
Newly published
HerMoney: How To Choose The Best Wine On A Budget
TODAY.com: National Doughnut Day: Where to score freebies at Dunkin, 7-Eleven and more
Clean Plates: The Best Plant-Based Meats for the Grill, According to Vegans
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
The TK Best Healthy Snacks to Buy at Target, according to Dietitians -- Looking for RDs and nutritionists to weigh in on this one please. What do you love and why? As a reminder, when we say healthy on this site, we mean as many clean, whole ingredients, as possible and no refined sugar or super-refined grains.
TK Healthy Costco Store Brand Items That Are Surprisingly High Quality
Personally, I'm a fan of their olive oil (and I say that as someone who has visited Italy for the olive harvest and been to many olive oil tastings), but I'd love RDs and nutritionists to weigh in on this as well... what else is there? And why is it great? Focus on organics pls <3
RetailMeNot
1. The Best Father's Day Sales to Shop Now: I'm looking for the biggies for this one, places like Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Ancestry, 23andMe, Fitbit IF they are throwing a sale. I'm looking for retail sales only for this one (NOT restaurants - I have a different story at a different outlet for that). TO pitch for this one, please include what's on sale, how to shop it, the promo code.
2. Fourth of July Store Hours + Stores Open Fourth of July (similar to the Easter and Memorial Day store hours roundup I did for this same outlet). This is for major retailers, look at my versions for other holidays for an idea of what I'm looking for.
Today.com
For Today.com, I'm 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.)
Virtual consulting sessions...
I've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and making 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! 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!
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!)
Download the Substack App!
Good news! This newsletter is now available via app. That means you can keep up with everything you are reading from your phone. Download the app for iPhone and iPad here. For Android users, sign up for the waiting list here.
That's all for today - have a lovely holiday weekend, and try to spend some time with friends and family. There's nothing more important!
<3
aly