Aly's Newsletter: Thursday Edition

A quick cautionary tale I wanted to share with you...

A few days ago, I put out a query in this newsletter seeking home organization experts to answer some interview questions for a story I'm working on on decluttering your home.

Following that, two different experts sent me commentary that I quickly realized they had actually just grabbed from their own website and cut and pasted into an email.

Please remember that journalists can never (and should never) use quotes that have been previously published elsewhere. This is of course different then when we cite secondary sources in research. But if something is presented as a primary source, it has to actually be a primary source. In other words, if we are presenting something as original commentary, it actually has to be original commentary.

(That should be obvious, but I guess not…)

It doesn't matter that it was not in a publication but by the expert themselves on their own website. It's not OK. Please ONLY send original commentary that you have not shared or posted anywhere else, or with anyone else, when being quoted for a story. And, if applicable, please wait for me to send my specific questions or arrange an interview before sending commentary at all. Thank goodness, I have a strict personal policy where I vet all responses before using them in a story and I caught this - someone less experienced may not have, and that could have led to them losing their job. No one knows that!

Something to keep in mind. The reason I share things like this is not to call anyone out, but to turn what could have been stressful and damaging into a teaching moment that helps us all and makes all of us more productive in our own jobs.

Virtual consulting sessions...

Speaking about these kind of issues, 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!

What's cooking?

Today on my Instagram stories, I'm sharing my recipe for Passover-friendly "bagels" - grab it before it disappears! Later this afternoon, I’ll be making stuffed cabbage. While it’s very similar to when I make this dish the rest of the year, there will (of course), be a few ingredient modifications.

Newly published or freshly updated:

• Food Network: Kraft Mac & Cheese Microwaveable Cups Now Come Gluten-Free

• The Kitchn: Aldi’s New Fan-Inspired Gear Capsule Collection Just Hit Shelves and Yes, the Prices Are Wildly Low

• Forbes: Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Foodie Gifts For The Mom Who Loves To Travel

• Forbes: Mother’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Luxury Kitchen Gifts

• YourTango: 7 People Who Lost 100+ Pounds Share Their Best Weight Loss Secrets

• Ask Men: Are You Flexible Enough to Try These Exotic Sex Positions?

As always, if you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social shares.

Attention Vegas and Louisville:

I'll be in Vegas next weekend on a media trip (April 29-May 1) and in Louisville the following weekend for the Kentucky Derby. If you'll be in either place either time, drop me a line!

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

I'm looking for organization experts to comment for a story I'm working on: The Best Decluttering Advice from TK Organization Experts. For this, I'm focusing on decluttering the kitchen but really all the rooms in the house are up for organizing (and closets, too). I think the less expected/anticipated the advice is, the better — so if your client wants to say something along the lines of "try buying an organizing tool to keep under the bathroom sink" I'm going to want something a little bit less obvious, but otherwise, everything is fair game!

RetailMeNot

For RetailMeNot, I'm rounding up Father's Day gifts for every type of dad. 

I'm looking for great gifts that's affordable ("affordable" obviously varies by budget, but I'm trying to stay under $200 and have a wide range of prices) for a variety of categories. I'm hoping to include picks for the following categories:

• Foodie dad

• Techy dad

• The dad who has everything

• For the fashionable dad

• For the outdoorsy dad

• For the indoorsy dad

• For the bookworm dad

• For the handy dad

• The Dad who's trying to downsize and doesn't want clutter

• For the fitness-obsessed dad

For RetailMeNot, I'm also doing Memorial Day store hours for 2022. This is the Memorial Day version of the Easter store hours story I JUST did for them, so take a look at that one for format, but I'll have 3 sections - Stores Open on Memorial Day + Store Hours, Stores Closed on Memorial Day, Restaurants Open on Memorial Day + Hours. This Memorial Day story is an update of this piece from last year. So if you represent a store or restaurant in that story, it'd be so helpful if you can reach out with your Memorial Day info if you have it handy.

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 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 solid, 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 cutting and pasting a URL...that will ensure I actually GET it and not ... a dropbox home screen lol.)

Today.com

• I'm rounding up restaurant/food chain deals for Cinco De Mayo. I'm ALSO rounding up deals at restaurant/food chains for MOTHER'S DAY. 

• 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)

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!

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<3

aly