Monday: Are you making these mistakes in your emails and ruining your media relationship? We'll discuss.
Good morning!
In the interest of streamlining your inbox experience, going to try something a little different today…I’m placing all the normal daily newsletter content on the top of the email and will position the weekly insights edition under a paywall at the bottom.
Obviously, you’ll still get all the sourcing opportunities and usual features as part of the free content (that’ll never change as long as I’m here!) - but scroll down if you want the additional commentary and added value!
(But please make sure to read everything I’m sourcing for first, there’s a lot of pending assignments this week!)
LOTS of newly published stories to share today!
For Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free, Travelers Swear by This Personal Safety Device and also: 13 Best Solo Travel Safety Devices on Amazon From $10.
For Forbes.com: The Dirty Martini Has Entered The Breakfast Game, for Southern Living: Can You Eat Unripe Avocado? and Can You Freeze Cabbage?and finally, a fun one for Food Network: 11 Restaurant Deals for the Grad in Your Life.
Thanks so much to you, all of you, every day, because without your sources, products, and pitches, these stories would be so much harder to get off the ground!
It was a whirlwind weekend with a whole lot of running around — and also fun: Culminating with one of the most fun parties I’ve been to in a long time - Chef Morimoto’s birthday party! Like, seriously, from caviar bumps to raw bar — it was insane, in all the best possible ways.
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m also offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this substack, which goes out to nearly 10,000 media professionals every single day; Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!
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Thank you for helping get the word out!
We loved how many of attended you took the time to attend our webinar event last month, covering the upcoming ShareASale to Awin migration. We covered an overview of the migration process and timeline, pricing of networks, and choosing a network for your specific client needs. If you missed it, we do have a recording available for paid subscribers. Email if interested and I’ll share how to grab that recording as well!
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!)
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.
Forbes.com: New York City's Best Salads To Enjoy This Summer
Southern Living: Can You Freeze Cabbage?
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
Travel & Leisure: Travelers Swear by This Personal Safety Device
Travel & Leisure: 13 Best Solo Travel Safety Devices on Amazon From $10
Forbes.com: The Dirty Martini Has Entered The Breakfast Game
Southern Living: Can You Eat Unripe Avocado?
Food Network: 11 Restaurant Deals for the Grad in Your Life
Forbes.com: 17 Lemon-Centric Cocktails To Enjoy All Spring
Today.com: Best drugstore wrinkle creams 2025, according to experts
Forbes.com: Chefs Nationwide Are Honoring Ramp Season In Some Delicious Ways
HerMoney: How To Get Cheap Hotels When You Travel.
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by These Packable Ballet Flats for Comfort, Support, and Long Days on My Feet
Travel & Leisure: This Flight Attendant-approved Jumpsuit Is My Go-to Comfy Airplane Outfit — and It’s Only $25 Right Now$150 and Under
Apartment Therapy: I Tried the “Weight Rule” for Decluttering, and It Keeps My Small Apartment Clutter-Free
Travel & Leisure: This Flight Attendant-approved Jumpsuit Is My Go-to Comfy Airplane Outfit — and It’s Only $25 Right Now.
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device
Travel & Leisure: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off
Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane
Southern Living: The Unexpected Reason I Always Travel With Duct Tape—And You Should Too
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.
Newsweek Readers' Choice
As a reminder, I’m on the panel of travel and food journalists who chooses the nominations for Newsweek’s Readers Choice Awards. Two new categories I’m working on nominees for are now pending: Best Buffet Restaurant and Best Food Hall. Here’s what I’m looking for: For best buffets: These are higher-quality food, outstanding service, etc., ideally widespread across the U.S. but really good regional spots are OK too. For food halls: The food hall should by highly rated, but also include multiple vendors that are themselves highly rated, located in the US, and i’m focusing on geographic diversity (I want to try to represent the whole country), and it should not be a food court (located in a mall, airport, etc.). Food halls are typically their own destination.
Saatva
I’m working on a story on How to Go to Sleep Fast: Tips to Help You Fall Asleep Quickly - and I’m looking for a sleep expert or two to weigh in, as far as: some reasons why you can’t fall asleep, special considerations, tips for falling asleep faster, long-term sleep strategies, and more. Please don’t send commentary without emailing me first, as I have specific questions (and I’ll need experts unaffiliated with other mattress brands for this one, please).
Forbes
I’m working on two Father’s Day-gift guide type projects - As in, they are for Father’s Day, and will involve gift ideas and products, but aren’t going to be a product-specific guide in the most classic of senses.
How to plan the perfect Father's Day for the carnivore in your life -- For this story, I’m looking to round up some products (meats, marinades, spices, perhaps), but also get some chef input as far as ideas for making the day special and unique.
Dad has wanderlust? Here's some foodie ideas for honoring his love of travel - Maybe if he's craving a trip to NYC, send him pastrami from a Jewish deli, or if he's craving lobster, send him a lobster pot pie from New England, but also some ideas for having a travel-themed food experience right at home this Father's Day. Would totally be open to chef input for this one as well!
I’m also rounding up Pride cocktails - both those on the restaurant and bar menus (similar format as always) but also Pride-Inspired Cocktails to Make at Home. Would love to hear from you!
Also: National Lobster Day and National Martini Day are both within the next few weeks. I’m also rounding up some creative sushi rolls/presentations/dishes around the US in honor of National Sushi Day. Creative spins on omakase are great too. Have anything fun for me for any of these? Email me with a description, location, chef quote, and an image. Thanks!