Aly's Newsletter: Holy wowzer gift guide edition
Hi, friends!
Congratulations on making it to Friday - it's finally the weekend!
You’ll see below I have upwards of a dozen stories pending (yup, a dozen….! hellppppp), so I’m going to try to get right into it, but just a few quick things to touch on.
I had the best time at a fun media event last night, reconnecting with some old friends and making some new ones. It's been so long since I've done anything like that, that sometimes I feel like I need to re-learn how to exist in social situations. Thankfully, it appears there's some muscle memory involved! Also, martinis help.
I also want to give a MEGA thanks to the amazing people who take time out of their day to read this newsletter. A bunch of you responded yesterday when I mentioned Amber Love Bond's travel situation and came through in a big way, totally saving the day. Everything worked out in the best way possible, and it’s thanks to all of you.
I super appreciate it (and it makes me feel more than ever that this is more than a newsletter, but a community of friends.)
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.
AllRecipes
For AllRecipes, I'm going to be working on a roundup of drinking glasses - everything from those regency-era coupe glasses I'm obsessed with to, like, stuff for water or juice (hydration is important, you guys). This is fairly comprehensive, and I'll have more details in Monday's newsletter, but if you want a head start, you can start emailing me!
Forbes.com
I said it was coming and here it is, I'm working on a bunch of Mother's Day gift guides for Forbes. Here's the topics:
Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Mail-Order Gifts For A Mother’s Day Meal At Home
Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Foodie Gifts For The Mom Who Loves To Travel
Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Luxury Kitchen Gifts
Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Celebrity Chef Merchandise For Home Cooks
To pitch me for any of these, please be sure to start a new email thread, email alywalansky@gmail.com (NOT my substack) and let me know which one(s) you are pitching for. please be sure to include:
name of product
where sold, link, price
description, and why it's a good fit for this theme
and a LINK to a high res image (dropbox preferred...just please make sure you are SHARING the image and not just cut and pasting a URL...that will ensure I actually GET it and not ... a dropbox home screen lol.)
Clean Plates
I'm rounding up healthy Mother's Day gifts you can get on Amazon. Can be foods / snacks / organic chocolates / wellness oriented stuff... anything that fits into the whole Clean Plates theme (so you. may want to take a gander at the site to have an idea of the kind of stuff that may work before pitching) - I'm looking to include a range of prices, but keep everything from the $10 range to like $100.
Taste of Home
I'm working on Paw-some Dog Birthday Party Ideas - I'm rounding up products you'd purchase for a dog's birthday party. So stuff like fun decorations on Etsy, a dog-friendly birthday cake, little gifts for the furry guests, and items that'll help the humans at the party celebrate, too.
HerMoney
For HerMoney.com, I'm working on the following:
Mother's Day gifts under $100 that will make her have a better day every day
Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas to celebrate Earth Day Right
Today.com
I'm looking for restaurant chains nationwide doing special deals/discounts for tax day. If you have any, please email me with what the restaurant is (chains only please), what the freebie/discount/deal is, and how to claim it.
I'm also rounding up deals at restaurant/food chains for MOTHER'S DAY. (This is a month away obviously, so I have a bit of time to play with this one) - for either of these, please be sure to send the name of the chain, what the deal is, and how customers can claim it. (Do they need a promo code? A rewards app? A QR code? etc)
ALSO ALSO Please send me your food chain deals for CINCO DE MAYO.
To pitch me for ANY of these stories, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com (and start a new thread, please!).
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.
PS: Please be sure to follow my Insta tonight for dinner - there’s a potato leek kugel in the works that I’m pretty excited about.
<3
aly