Industry Insights: Everything I learned about PR, media, and writing this season from watching Hallmark Christmas movies

Hi, everyone!

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all celebrating!

I'm in the midst of grating a million potatoes for the annual Walansky family latkes fest, but in the spirit of the season, I thought I'd leave you with something fun today.

As a follow up to yesterday's email, where I illustrated some PR takeaways from the Hanukkah story, today I figured I'd talk a bit about some PR lessons we can learn from everyone's favorite seasonal pastime - that'd be binging Hallmark holiday movies!

Embrace the unknown.

Oh my goodness, I was just watching Hanukkah on the Rocks but it's so true for all of the 2,000 holiday (usually Christmas) Hallmark movies we see each and every year - the heroine will always find her greatest passion when she embraces the unknown. She goes to a random small town to save the family bakery and finds love with the local grain farmer. Embracing the unknown is also incredibly important in PR, and as a writer as well. We need to constantly be trying fresh angles and fresh approaches to give a topic or an idea or a pitch new life.

Don't be afraid to expand your network!

Remember how last week I invited my whole Substack community to my birthday party? I promise it wasn't so I could look more popular in photos (but, I mean, I did feel pretty loved!), but you open up so many more doors by connecting with new people. Sure, that guy that you accidentally walked directly into, spilling your peppermint mocha in the proc3ss, may be annoying AF right now...but he's probably also the person with the special kind of grain that's gonna save Christmas, and the family bakery. Always be building those relationships, and expanding those networks. It'll open new doors and create new opportunities and we can never have too many friends (or sexy grain farmers...)

People are your strongest asset.

How many Hallmark movies are about small family businesses in small towns? People are the heart of every business, and every relationship, and where we should always put our heart and focus.

Be creative

Creative solutions (though they are always kind of a little ridiculous and absurd in Hallmark-land) are always what wins the town bake-off at the last moment and saves the day, and being creative in media and PR is always the way to go, as well. We all get hundreds of pitches in a day, be the most interesting one that stands out, gets noticed, and most importantly - is remembered.

Keep that hope burning.

These people in Hallmark movies are giving up their big city apartments and fancy jobs to wear flannel and bake muffins in a small town with one traffic light - but they are doing it because they have a mission -- usually to save Christmas. And, by the end of the movie, they usually do - AND find love with a grain farmer. Let that be your light, too, and keep the hope alive. There'll be barriers and setbacks and frustrations and you'll want to give up - but don't. Keep at it. You'll save Christmas.

Don't be afraid to ask for help.

...Including in unexpected places. Hallmark movies are all about those strange alliances!

But, eventually, you'll have to move on.

If you are in a Hallmark movie, you're probably leaving jobs and relationships and moving on when you need to - think about the people who give up royal titles and leave entire kingdoms! That said, if your pitch isn't landing and media outlets aren't being responsive, don't beat a horse to death - it's time to step a step back, rejigger your efforts, and move on.

Happy holidays!

<3

aly