Monday: Here's why writers get frustrated when you add tracking links to pitches + breaking some big food world news!
Seeking RDs and nutritionists to weigh in on pending content!
Good morning!
Did anyone watch the premiere of the Outlander prequel, Blood of my Blood yet? It’s SO good. If you are watching, please email me…I’m desperate to chat about it!
In other news, hello! I’m back in NYC and gearing up for a busy week.
I have some fun new content to share (including some breaking food world news!), but first, today’s tip is something that helps you and also helps me: You know when you are sending me those links to your restaurants or bars or hotels in an email pitching me for one of my roundups or other stories? Please don’t attach tracking links to those URLs.
Pretty please with a cherry on top.
(See, actual visual evidence of me presenting you with an image of something with a cherry on top as part of my plea in this matter! I follow through!)
But seriously: Yes, I get why you are doing it, and I totally respect your reasoning. You want to see how that pitch is doing! We all love a pulse check.
But doing so creates a whole lot more work all around and will actually ultimately not do you any good anyway.
The tracking link thing has been something that has been an issue for years, but this weekend, as I was on the plane home from my trip, I was going through a bunch of pitches for my National Potato Day pitches and noticed those tracking links in everything from restaurant/hotel URLs to image and product links. I’ll just have to remove these links before submitting an article to my editor or building it in a publication’s CMS because I can assure you my editor totally will do so on their end anyway — and they won’t be happy about it if it gets as far as them.
Sometimes writers are super busy and just cut and paste URLs from your email into their story and may not catch that they copied something along the lines of tracking.hub.gotyababy.pitchsuccess.potatofries instead of a straightforward link to a restaurant. Hell, an editor may be busy and miss it too sometimes. Then you end up with aforementioned tracking link in an active published article on a major publication’s website. And remember — when you stick a tracking link on a URL, you are giving over the reins to a third-party tracking services, which means — they, and not you or I or my publication - has control over the links. If the service becomes compromised or has an outage or goes out of business, those tracked links become broken links. Eek. You don’t want that I’m sure. And we absolutely don’t either!
Tracking links are seen by many as a privacy violation and also intrusive, but also they may actually impact email deliverability as some email providers actually BLOCK emails that are using open tracking. In other cases, antivirus programs (which many of us have) may flag it as a potential spyware attempt and block it. Remember what we chatted about last week: If your email ends up in my spam or never arrives at all, I can’t respond to it.
Look at this as another way that we can help one another and make everyone’s job easier and less frustrating…that’s the best gift we can give ourselves on this humid summer Monday.
OK thanks for coming to my TED TALK. Here’s some newly published content!
For Food Network, breaking some news that I think a lot of you are going to be very excited about: A Beloved KFC Side Is Finally Returning Nationwide!
(Seriously, I discovered this breaking news a few days ago while at the breakfast buffet with Jill Schildhouse on Star of the Seas, and got so excited, I had to immediately leave behind my smoked salmon and run to my stateroom to cover the story!)
For Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free. For The Kitchn: The New Kraft Mac & Cheese Flavor That Has People So Excited (It's Very '90s!) , For Saatva: 5 Easy Tips to Train Yourself to Sleep on Your Back and How to Go to Sleep Fast: 24 Tips to Help You Fall Asleep.
And, of course, for my Yahoo Creators column: New stories every day!
Upcoming travel: I’ll be in LA in early September, and in Fort Lauderdale (very briefly) in mid-November. Hope to connect with some of you if itinerary and time allows. Other potential fall/winter travel is in the the works, and will share it here as well once confirmed.
Also: Who will be in NY for NYCWFF this fall? I’ll be here, there, everywhere and hope to see you, too! (And yes, I’ll be in Miami for SOBEWFF this winter as well, of course!)
Book your summer consulting session!
I still have some space available for August!
I can join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and do a team Q&A and answer any of your questions about planning events, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up :)
I’m now contributing to the Yahoo Creators platform, writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!)
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m 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!
Tools of the trade
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!)
Press Hook is where journalists, newsletter writers, and podcasters source expert quotes, hi-res images, product samples, affiliate info, and brand story angles — all from vetted brands in one searchable hub. It connects journalists and brands in what feels like a really user-friendly, organic way and I use it often to browse for sources and products aligned with my current projects and I’ve often found precisely what I need, when I need. Give it a try!
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.
Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Food Network: A Beloved KFC Side Is Finally Returning Nationwide!
Food Network: IHOP Brings an Extra Layer of Luxury to Dubai Chocolate
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
The Kitchn: The New Kraft Mac & Cheese Flavor That Has People So Excited (It's Very '90s!)
Southern Living: We Asked Southern Chefs Their Favorite Brand Of Baked Beans—And This Brand Won By A Landslide
Travel & Leisure: 15 Amazon Business Casual Clothes for Summer Travel.
Apartment Therapy: I Bring These Brilliant Insect Repellent Wipes Everywhere I Go (They’re Travel-Friendly!)
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
Travel & Leisure: 6 Best Business Travel Airplane Outfits, From $12
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: I Found the Perfect Walking Shoes to Prevent Sore Feet During Travel — Score Styles on Sale Up to 62% Off
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.
Southern Living
I’m working on a story on why early morning is the best time to go to the grocery store - even if it's the last thing your body wants to do. (I have my own reasons for this, of course!) - but I’d love if any experts want to weigh in as well.
Forbes
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
National Potato Day and National Hot & Spicy Day are both approaching - please pitch me the best potato dishes or SPICY dishes at your restaurant or bar (and yes, fries are totally allowed for potatoes if they are fun presentations!). To pitch, please always use this format and don’t skip any parameters:
Name of dish
Restaurant, city, state, website
Description of dish
Quote from chef about dish (plus name and title of person quoted)
Image and photo credit (I prefer links to attachments!)
Note, for spicy: I want hot and spicy with lot of flavor, not just a bunch of heat, please.
POTATO WILL WRAP UP TODAY. Spicy I can still take thru EOW.
thanks so much, and have the best day <3
aly
Is this why some affiliate programs don't allow links in emails?