It's a rather bittersweet day to live in Brooklyn...

First of all, I wanted to send heartfelt thanks to everyone who reached out this morning. I've gotten countless emails, texts, and DMs asking if me and my family and friends who are in Brooklyn are safe.

I am, thankfully. And everyone I know is, too.  And I'm so thankful for people who care! The weird ... benefit...?...of the pandemic is that I have been avoiding taking the subway for several years now.  And while the Uber lifestyle is VERY much not kind to my budget (in the biggest of ways), it has kept me away from the subway.

What happened this morning happened in Sunset Park, which is a few miles away from me (people may not realize this, but Brooklyn is actually very large, larger than Manhattan even), but it's an area that I am in, and pass through, very often. But it's just so shocking that something like that could happen during rush hour, in broad daylight...

I've always had a bit of a sensitive spot about being from Brooklyn. I love it here, I grew up here, it's the only place I want to live - but sometimes, people who are not from here have an idea about it that it's either this mystical land of hipsters, or some modern equivalent of the wild west.  Neither is actually true. Yes, there are areas with some crime. Yes, there's areas with some hipsters. But there's a whole heck of a lot in between that doesn’t make it to the cable movie version of Brooklyn they base their reality on.

So when something happens like this morning...I'm embarrassed to think my initial thought is...ugh...of course. This will give all the Brooklyn-haters and anti-borough-elitists a battle cry about how dangerous Brooklyn is, and give them added-excuses for why they never will want to come here. (It's too dangerous, alas!) - but the reality? What happened this morning, it can happen anywhere. It does happen everywhere. It's not a statement on how bad Brooklyn is, or how bad NYC is, but rather...how everything everywhere is really scary right now and the whole world is in a sad, scary, dangerous place. I still love Brooklyn and love NYC - it will always be my home - and I’m so incredibly proud about how people come together and are there for each other during awful times. Do not be afraid to visit New York City. Do not be afraid to visit me in Brooklyn. New York City is still the most amazing city of all, and chances are if you have heard otherwise, it’s from people who are not even from here.

That said - if I can turn this to a media slant for a second (that is actually the reason people are reading. I get it!) - I have had a subway aversion for several years because of COVID, but the reality is a lot of people will have such now, because of today. So please build sending Uber vouchers into any of your press invites. People right now are terrified, and they aren't going to get on a subway, especially in the dark of night, to go to your cocktail party or press dinner. It's just the sad reality of the world at current.

Now onto better news...

Last night, I had dinner with two old and dear friends, Amber and Marina. Amber and Marina were actually my VERY first friends in the writing world...god, it was probably like 15 years ago! We met at a beauty brand's press dinner (shout out to Dove, I believe, circa 2006? 2007?) - and while sometimes some time will go by between the three of us getting together -- they are both close friends to this day, and I'm so grateful we got to spend some time together. Something else to keep in mind when planning press dinners - you never know if it will lead to lifelong friendships!

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Some housekeeping

This weekend, I sent out my weekly paid edition of the newsletter. There, I shared the details about my next subscriber-only Zoom event. You can still check it out here.

Also, unrelated housekeeping - but please take a moment to take a deep breath and count to 10 before sending those "hey, saw your roundup/gift guide/gallery/whatever and was just wondering why we weren't included." - these types of emails are positively maddening and they happen A LOT. 

The reality is that there's WAY WAY more pitches than there is space in a story. Sometimes things aren't a fit for a variety of reasons. Sometimes though, other things are simply a better fit. But if I am writing a gift guide that includes 10 items, but I received 1000 (no joke) pitches for that gift guide, please understand that the vast majority of pitches are not included. You'll still be considered next time -- unless you harass me over this time. (Just kidding, I'll still consider you anyway. I'm not mean. But my nerves may be frazzled!)

Newly published:

• The Kitchn: Here’s How to Easily Tell If Your Butter Is at Room Temperature

• Clean Plates: 12 Passover Recipes For a Healthy and Delicious Seder

• The Kitchn: This Burrata Hack Will Revolutionize Your at-Home Brunch Routine

• Clean Plates: The Healthiest, Best-Tasting Tomato Sauces to Stock Up on at the Grocery Store

If you or your client are featured in any of these stories, I super appreciate any shares on social media tagging @alywalansky and the outlet. Thanks!

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.

AllRecipes

For AllRecipes, I'm going to be working on a roundup of drinking glasses - everything from those regency-era coupe glasses I'm obsessed with to, like, stuff for water or juice (hydration is important, you guys).  My categories of drinking glasses will include (in the event this is helpful in your pitching) stuff like: "Best Overall for Everyday Use," "Best Budget," "Best Unbreakable" (think water glasses for these first few), "Best Insulated," ... then stuff like "Best for Bourbon and Whiskey," "Best for Beer," "Best for Wine," and "Best for Champagne".  For each item I include, I will be touching on a few specs (for glasses, specs would probably be Material:, Dimensions:, Capacity:, and Quantity:), i'm going to try to do a range of retailers for these, but limit to the major ones (think amazon, walmart, target, etc)

Clean Plates

 I'm working on a roundup of the healthiest fast food orders for when you're on a road trip according to dietitians. I'm thinking of combos like Wendy's, Subway, Dunkin, Taco Bell, Burger King, Dairy Aueen, Starbucks (those sous vide egg bites?), etc... I'm ultimately going to do a fast casual version of this later so I'm going to keep this to proper fast-fast places, and when sending expert input, please feel free dip into the breakfast menus / make a meal out of sides!

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 Foodie Gifts For The Mom Who Loves To Travel

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

• 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 cut and pasting a URL...that will ensure I actually GET it and not ... a dropbox home screen lol.)

Today.com

I'm rounding up deals at restaurant/food chains for MOTHER'S DAY. (This is a month away obviously, so I have a bit of time to play with this one) - 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!)

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<3

aly