Aly's Newsletter: Tuesday Edition
Good morning!
I know yesterday's newsletter focused heavily on my weekend trip, but we do have to have some serious television discussion.
I knew a little of what we would see in the Outlander finale due to the book that it's based on, and there's no doubt it was a TALL order to fit that much drama into what was a very limited season.
I do love how the theme was that Jamie and Claire's instinct is to protect each other at all costs and I hope that when season 7 rolls around they will be reunited quickly and we won't have episodes long stretches of them apart (then again, even when they were separated for 20 years, it was really only about half a season!)
But I love how on this show, even in the midst of so much sadness and terror around them, they still find space for those incredibly beautiful intimate moments.
Speaking of sadness (and intimate moments...), tonight is This Is Us night! It's a Miguel-centric episode...may we finally see how him and Rebecca got together? (Though I fear this episode will have a sad ending...)
OK, more on TV tomorrow with my This Is Us recap...now onto work things!
Newly published stories
Here’s some stories that published since yesterday:
AllRecipes: The Best Drinking Glasses For All Your Beverages
Food Network: Popeyes Attempts to Make Lightning Strike Twice with New Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich
As always, if you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social shares. Please remember to tag me at @alywalansky!
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.
Forbes
For Forbes, I’m doing a roundup of fun and unique cocktails that restaurants and bars around the country are doing for Mother’s Day. This is something that may or may not exist on their menu generally, but will be on the menu or be a special for Mother’s Day. If you have anything that fits, please pitch me asap (by Wednesday 5/4 please), with the following info:
1 - Name of cocktail
2 - Where sold (name of bar/restaurant, URL, city, state)
3 - Description of drink (I do not need a recipe!)
4 - Quote from bartender/bar manager about the drink - please don’t forget to include their name and title with the quote…
5 - High res image of the cocktail
Note: Please only pitch me if you have ALL the components I asked for above. Otherwise I cannot consider.
Clean Plates
For Clean Plates, I need RDs to comment asap! ( I feel like I say this often...) I'm working on two more of my favorite topics - Trader Joe's stories! They are:1 - The Best Trader Joe's Breakfast Items According to Nutritionists2 - Ways to Make Simple 15-Minute Dinners from Trader Joe's
The second one can be a mix of healthy recipes and products that go together in an easy way. For instance, the TJs cauliflower gnocchi + their seriously bomb pesto = great base for a meal. (This one would be great with suggestions of adding, say, their organic green vegetable foursome and some of their frozen shrimp or chickpeas for protein). Would love RDs to comment for both!
Retailmenot
For RetailMeNot, I'm rounding up Memorial Day store hours for 2022. This is the Memorial Day version of the Easter store hours story I 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.
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!)
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.
<3
aly