Friday: TGIF indeed.

Good morning!

My technology is being kind of irksome today (and who has time or budget for that drama?!), so I’m being super uncharacteristic and taking advantage of Summer Fridays by making myself a 2 pm nail appointment today.

Yes, I feel downright SCANDALOUS.

It takes an awful lot to convince me to leave my desk (er, couch) during standard working hours on a weekday…but apparently a nail emergency merits. (Truth be told I have some important events next week, and this legit is an emergency to get handled.)

In less vain news, (hey, we all have our moments!), excited to say I have a bunch of summer travel in the works — this includes work-related trips to Vegas, Kansas City, and (after four long years!) a return to Nashville. If you live in any of these cities, be sure to connect so that hopefully we can make a coffee or martini date happen! There’s a few other things up in the air with potential, so stay tuned!

(PS: This is my first time visiting Kansas City and I’m excited!)

Fun weekend reading

I love this article my friend Alice Dubin wrote this week for Woman’s Day about the best luggage on Amazon - and I extra love it because she quoted me throughout, giving travel expert commentary on how I choose my own luggage what to look out for/avoid. (I actually JUST upgraded my own luggage, so it was perfect timing!)

Newly published or freshly updated

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!

PS: I love doing podcasts! Check out my guest appearance on the Italian Wine Podcast this week, where we discussed all things Substack. Other recent podcast appearances include the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast with the incredible (and super fun!) Lexie Smith, where we chatted about everything from press dinners and events and trips to, well, sippin’! I’ve recorded a few others that should be live soon as well and I’m always open to doing more — email me at alywalansky@gmail.com.

• Forbes.com: This Retreat Is The Perfect Getaway For Meat Lovers This Father's Day

• RetailMeNot: Father’s Day Gifts for Every Type of Dad

• Today.com: 9 drugstore wrinkle creams experts say are worth it — starting at $11

• Forbes.com: Father's Day Gift Guide: The Best Gifts To Stock His Freezer

• Forbes.com: Father's Day Gift Guide: The Best Gifts For The Dad Who Loves To Grill

• Forbes.com: Father’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Cookbooks To Add To His Collection

• Forbes.com: Father's Day Gift Guide: The Best Gifts For The Culinary Traveler

• Forbes.com: A Delightful Afternoon Tea Can Be Found In The Most Unexpected Of Places

• Forbes.com: Geraldine Kavanagh’s Full-Time Foraging Has Led To Some Incredible Gin

  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.

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.

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.

Please consult my industry insights guides on submitting expert commentary, sending emails that will catch a journalist’s attention, how to craft pitches journalists will say ‘yes’ to, and the right and wrong way to submit photos, if you need any extra guidance before sending your pitches.

RetailMeNot

All the Best Fourth of July Sales to Shop Now: I’m working on an update of this story from last year.  A lot of these might change, so note any run-through dates IF the retailer has those when pitching me. Otherwise, it's OK to describe the sale as "for a limited time." I’m going to try to include spots such as Home Depot, Lowe's, Best Buy, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Ancestry, 23andMe, Fitbit IF they are throwing a sale. If pitching me for this one, please be sure to include what's on sale, how to shop it, the promo code (if any). Maybe the promo code is storewide, so that makes it super flexible. Whatever the shopper needs to know about how and WHY to shop the sale.

I’m also updating this story from last year: Stores Open Fourth of July + Fourth of July Store Hours. Please look at last year’s version for an idea of format and what I’m looking for - and if I included your store hours or sales last year, feel free to reach out and give me updates!

Forbes.com

Last month, I did a roundup of cocktails perfect for honoring mom or mother figures on Mother’s Day. I’m working on the same now for Father’s Day. These must exist on the menu at a bar or restaurant (i.e. someone can go there and order it). To pitch me for this roundup, please include the name of the cocktail, a description, where it is found (name of restaurant, URL, city, state), and a quote from the bartender/bar manager/chef about the cocktail. Please also give me a link to an image and any appropriate image credits. Due to the huge volume of responses I get for these stories, please be sure to have all the necessary components before pitching.

Also for Father’s Day, I’m looking for chefs to share one way their own dad or a father figure in their life inspired their work as a chef. Perhaps it’s a kitchen technique or recipe or even a philosophy about an ingredient or food or cooking in general. Please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you have chefs open to giving commentary (even better if they can share some sweet photos of them and their dad in the kitchen!)

Outlander is coming back soon (and droughtlander is finally ending!) so I was wondering if there’s any bar/restaurants doing fun cocktails in celebration of the return? Let me know!

Looking to up your affiliate marketing game?

Affiliate marketing is complicated, and it seems that the landscape keeps changing. If you are looking to be prepared for gift guide season and all other shopping-related content, you may want to try the 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!)

Virtual (and now in-person!) 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 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. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat!

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!

Have a great day!

<3