Friday Edition: One Thing You Can Do At Your Virtual Event Sure To Get Everyone Engaged
Also: Job leads, pending stories, and everything newly published this week!
Good morning!
Friends, we have made it to Friday. Praise the heavens.
In fun news, my friends at Comm Oddities hosted a holiday gifting preview virtual event yesterday -- and it involved drag queen bingo!
We're getting to the time of year that many brands are going to be hosting holiday preview and holiday gifting themed events. It's so important to take that necessary topic and turn it into something interesting, and interactive, and fun, because journalists will be attending A TON of them and it’s so easy to get to the point that you are mentally checked out.
If you make your event into some sort of fun activity, you'll get so much more participant engagement and make the event a lot more memorable (and well attended). This event yesterday had a great turnout, everyone had a blast and was participating, the chat was LIT (both in typing and audibly) and all the business that needed to be attended to was as well, but in a way that everyone got a lot more out of the experience.
(PS: Not to brag, but I KICKED BINGO ASS AND WON.)
OK that was bragging but it had to be shared.
Seriously, though, yesterday was a perfect example of what I often say in my consulting sessions when we chat about events (virtual and IRL, the same applies). Interactive and fun will always beat out preachy and boring. No one wants another webinar or powerpoint presentation about how to make toast in your brand's toaster or how your vacuum vacuums up crumbs better than another vacuum.
But having an activity, especially a fun and interactive one is always a great idea. This is true on a professional level but also on a personal level.
During lockdown, I used to plan fun and interactive virtual activities for my friend group every few weeks. We'd do virtual scavenger hunts, trivia, happy hours, Friendsgiving dinners. I even turned my own birthday Zoom into a virtual martini tutorial from my own couch in December of 2020 (little did I know that two years later I’d have a signature martini on a hotel bar menu inspired by that very night and so many of the people who were on that birthday Zoom would then be there in person for the festivities - what a beautiful full circle moment that was!).
Doing things like that was, for me, a way of staying connected and engaged and participating in my friends’ lives (who I missed DESPERATELY), but it also gave all of us something to look forward to until we could be together in real life again. (A friend of mine at the time said I was sort of like our friend group's cruise director!) Of course, we could look at each other’s Instagram and see what our pets were doing or what we were making for dinner, and keep in touch via text, but I tried to make these virtual events something that made us feel truly connected in a real-time face-to-face way.
The same can be said for virtual media events, in that, having us do an activity together and enjoy one another's company, makes the event just have so much more impact and meaning. This doesn't have to be bingo (though that was FANTASTIC), but could be a cooking or cocktail exercise, some sort of tasting, a paint and sip, some sort of crafting project, or so many other things. (And I have tons of ideas if you ever want to chat!)
For example, I'm working with a brand to host a virtual cocktail event for them in a few weeks. It's themed to their holiday lineup, but the rundown of the event itself will be making cocktails with secret ingredients (which are themselves from their product lineup and holiday gift ideas, of course)...there's so many ways to make a virtual event fun and memorable and still do the task at hand.
But, for now, cheers to my friends at Comm Oddities who did a GREAT job yesterday. I'm totally game to defend my Queen of Bingo tiara any time you need.
Get a special group rate
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Job leads
Have a job lead? Email them to me at alywalansky@gmail.com - they are always free, and always welcome. This newsletter goes out six days a week, so if you have a preferred day to have it appear, let me know that as well - can't guarantee it will be that day, but I will do my best. Internship opportunities are welcome as well! Please remember to include location of the job and any contact information. Blind items are also OK if you are putting some feelers out but not ready to share the job is available.
LaRue PR is looking for an Affiliate manager and a Senior account executive.
Newly published …
Since people are often asking about the status of stories from a while ago, and I only share stories in this newsletter that were published or updated in the current week, I have created a list of my author pages at various publications to which I contribute. Bookmark it and make your life a bit easier.
This list will live on my Substack URL and be updated as necessary. That way, you can see what I’m doing at any publication, at any time, from types of stories to general structure of stories to even volume and frequency of my content at that outlet.
This can also help you to target pitching a bit better. That makes your job easier, and mine too!
The Kitchn: These “House of the Dragon”-Inspired Wines Are Perfect for Your Weekly Watch Parties
Food Network: Looking for Some Inspiration for Your Next Grocery Run? Try Lizzo’s Shopping List
Taste of Home: Costco Sells Chicken Nuggets That Taste Exactly Like Chick-fil-A’s
TODAY.com: Want a free burger on National Burger Day? Here's where to get one
TODAY.com: Where to score freebies and deals for National Waffle Day
Food Network: You can now get the taste of Thin Mints … in a Stacy’s Pita Chip?
The Kitchn: This Super-Easy Caesar Salad Recipe Is the Perfect Fit for a Lazy Day
Food Network: Subway Launches Unlimited Pass for Those of Us Who Can't Get Enough Footlongs
RetailMeNot: The Best Labor Day 2022 Sales to Shop Now
The Kitchn: This Cake-Serving Hack Makes Cutting Round Cakes a Breeze
Yahoo Life: Man discovers rare purple pearl in restaurant appetizer: 'Treasure hunting in a bowl of clams'
The Kitchn: Martha Stewart’s Super-Simple Recipe for Waffle Chips Will Be Your Go-To Snack for Tailgating Season
AllRecipes: The 7 Best Hot Food Containers
If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any social media shares! Please remember to tag @alywalansky and the outlet.
What I’m working on now:
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.
Please remember when pitching me: Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com - do NOT just hit reply on this newsletter, or there’s a good shot your email will be lost in the heap. Give your email a subject line that makes it clear which story you are pitching me for — it’ll help you in the long run.
TODAY.COM
I’m rounding up freebies, deals, and discounts at food chains in honor of the following upcoming food holidays:
National Cheese Pizza Day
National Coffee Day
Labor Day restaurant deals
Please send me the deal, when it’s good, what the deal is, how to claim it, and any other details. (Is it only good during specific hours, is it only good at specific locations? This is all helpful to know!)
RetailMeNot
I'm working on the following new stories:
How to save at Uber Eats
How to save more at DoorDash
Shoppers Guide To Aldi - guide a first-time Aldi shopper through the differences (ie, shopping carts, checkout, etc.) Plus, ways Aldi helps you save (best products to buy there, etc.)
For all three of these, obviously I'm going to myself shop there and find ways to shop and save money and little time saving tips, but very open to expert advice as well.
Clean Plates
I’ll be doing a roundup of the best frozen cauliflower crust pizzas - as in the best tasting/best for you ones you can buy. I’d love RDS and nutritionists (unaffiliated with a brand ideally) to weigh in for a variety of pizza crusts - and I have a list I can share when you email me, as far as nutrient composition: Is cauliflower actually a primary ingredient or way down the list? If there are binders like rice flour or whatever, how refined are they / how nutritionally void? Taste: does it actually taste good? - I have a lot more specific metrics, and items I specifically want to touch on, so please email me before sending commentary and I’ll tell you what I’m looking for. (As far as formatting, look to this boxed mac and cheese story I did for the same outlet as far as what I’m looking for.)
Share the love
Every morning, I share what I’m working on that day and links to newly published stories and send it right into your inbox — for free! I also share productivity tips, job leads, links to volunteer and mentoring opportunities, recipes, and more — all always free.
Please share this newsletter with a friend or colleague today. Every Friday, I randomly choose one new free subscriber who signed on that week. They will be automatically upgraded to a paid subscription for free — and, if they tell me who referred them to this Substack, that person will as well! These opportunities only get better if we share them with our friends.
Paid subscriptions get additional benefits, such as my weekly industry insights newsletters, subscriber Zoom chats, and much more.
Virtual consulting sessions...
Looking for a consult as you plan your next event or trip? Or just want someone to take a look at the pitches you’ve been sending and give some feedback?
I've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff (This summer, I even joined in on an agency’s team retreat right here in Brooklyn — it was so fun and I made so many new friends!) and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another.
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!
Potential new availability: A few people have reached out to me and asked if I was also open to doing consulting for freelance journalists in addition to the PR consulting sessions I currently do, and I am absolutely considering it. I need to spend some time thinking on what a session like that may look like and be structured, but after 20+ years in the industry, I’ve seen a whole lot change and it may be interesting to share my own experiences with someone just starting out. So, stay tuned!
On the fence over whether this is a good fit for your team? Here’s some feedback I received from people who I have worked with recently:
"Aly’s advice and insight is invaluable to our team, not only is she incredibly knowledgeable, she is approachable, generous, and kind too. While we read every one of her newsletters, we decided to go one step further and invited Aly to host a Q&A with our agency. During the session, we felt comfortable asking her everything and anything. She went above and beyond, providing examples and reasoning for each answer, and the team walked away with an abundance of new insight, tips, and tricks, plus a new confidence in handling some of the most crucial parts of our jobs." Sacha Bell, Rachel Harrison Communications
"Looking for a brilliant writer that always goes above and beyond? Look no further than Aly! She is an incredible teacher, tells it exactly how it is and is so generous in sharing her knowledge. She knows what she wants from publicists, is very clear on her needs and expectations, and how to best support one another. Most of all, her kind personality jumps off the page, and her giggle and smile are infectious. In this consistently changing world of media, it’s so refreshing to know someone so genuine.” Kirsten Wanket
“Aly spoke to our team to help us all gain a better understanding of the media side of our business. Whether it was the best ways to pitch media or understanding the editorial process of content, she gave us tremendous insight into a vital relationship for mutual success. We were thrilled and our team came away with not only a deeper understanding, but with greater empathy for our colleagues in the media market. Definitely would recommend Aly for any agency looking to better work with their media counterparts.” Dawn Britt, Founder/Managing Partner/CEO of OneSeven Agency
“Aly has very kindly agreed to join a few sessions for us talking to both smaller and larger internal groups, and it has been incredibly helpful for our team to understand more about her process, and garner best practices that we leverage as we work on various programs. From sharing dos and don’ts for virtual and in-person events to pitching tips, Aly is a pro and always so thoughtful in her responses. And her own first-hand knowledge has helped us all to better understand the work process for freelancers and how we can most effectively work with other freelancers like Aly. We always appreciate her time and insights!” Erin Delahanty, Edelman
“I would highly recommend booking a virtual consulting session with Aly for an agency of any size! She offers up to date perspective on everything from the affiliates to how to get your pitches read to timing your pitching correctly. These virtual consulting sessions literally save you time trying to figure out what the media is looking for and give your team an immediate edge. Aly took her time and answered questions from the team. She is super friendly and you can tell she genuinely wants to create a win-win relationship between the media and publicists. Our team loved having Aly on and we cannot wait to have her back! It was a blast!” Leah Cybulski, ChicExecs
“Aly was able to join our agency for a PR Perspectives chat and not only was it so much fun, but it was so informative! Keeping a pulse on the constantly changing media landscape is so important and we loved the insights and expertise Aly was able to share with us. Highly recommend setting up a chat with her!” Jennifer Haile, Dentsu Creative PR
“I am always looking for ways to share new ideas and learning opportunities with our team to improve how we pitch and offer value to journalists and in turn their audience. Aly's no nonsense approach gave us accessible advice about the best way to communicate to media, what formats works best, and basically how we can share our client news in a way that will get us noticed and included in stories. Would do again in a heartbeat!” Samantha Davidson, Say My Name Communications
“For my team’s first hybrid media event for a product launch in the COVID era, Aly quickly jumped on a Zoom and dropped great insights that drove many of the event elements. The direction she provided helped us increase attendance and gave her journalist colleagues a more memorable experience. It was a bonus that she was so easy and fun to talk to.” Apryl Ash, Approach Marketing
Now, it’s your turn! Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com to get something on my schedule for this fall.
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!)
That’s it for today! Have a great day and I’ll see you same place, same time, tomorrow!
<3
aly