Monday: If you love romance and all things pretty and pink...you need to read today's email right now.
PLUS: A huge giveaway offer you don't want to miss!
Good morning!
One of the things I love most about our Substack community is that we’ve managed to make it about just that — community and friendship.
Sure, I share each morning what I’m working on and what I’ve published since the last email, and I often share job leads and industry insights and all that. We get together for Zoom Q&As and so much more. I realize that’s the official reason we’re here. But it’s more than that.
The industry content I share is something incredibly important to me, of course, but I never want to be strictly about just the work stuff - we know how we all feel about when PR/media feels transactional.
First and foremost, I want this space to be about community. Of friendship. Of celebrating each other’s wins and big moments. Day in and day out, we’re all in this together.
And you so have been all that for me, especially in the past year - whether it was my signature cocktail launch, my fun events and parties (how cool was it that some of you even came out to Brooklyn to make churros with me!), or just happy hour meetups in various cities I’ve visited, you’ve all shown up - and we’ve all deepened our relationships with one another in the process.
It really always feels that in the highs and in the lows, in the good and in the bad, in the ups and downs, we’re all in this together.
To that end, I have really exciting news to share today that I’ve been DYING to talk about for ages.
Those who follow me on social media know that I am very close friends with Lisa Richards, who owns RPZL — a few months ago (over martinis, if you must know, but probably already assumed) we decided to work on our first collaboration, and it’s one super close to my heart (or, rather, brain, I guess!).
We partnered to create the RPZL x ALY Valentine’s Day capsule collection, full of super cute pink headbands and bows, very romantic and very flirty — and all verrryyyy me.
(And because you are all such a big part of everything I do - I’m offering right now for one week only 25% off any piece in the collection, exclusively for my Substack community, with code ALY25.)
We’re going to be hosting a big launch party in early February in NYC, and I’m so excited to be able to invite some of my local NY-area subscribers to take part in the fun — there’ll be a headband and blowout bar and cocktails and so much more — stay tuned for that. (And let me know if you are interested in attending and I’ll reach out with more information once I have it.)
But there’s more I want to share!
To celebrate this launch, we’re hosting the Ultimate Self-Love Giveaway.
1 ridiculously lucky winner will receive:
🎀 RPZL x ALY entire Valentine’s Day hair accessory collection
🎀 10 RPZL blowouts
🎀 (1) RPZL Polisher Brush (the only brush I use - in fact, I have one at home *and* one in my travel bag)
🎀 1 year unlimited membership to Cacti Wellness
(Total value of the prize is over $1,500! ✨)
To Enter:
🎀 Follow @alywalansky, @rpzlrpzl, @cactiwellness on Instagram
🎀 Tag a Galentines bestie who is obsessed with self-love, beauty & bows (tag multiple friends for additional entries)
🎀 Share this giveaway on your Instagram Stories for more entry points and tag @alywalansky, @rpzlrpzl, @cactiwellness (Maybe tell us in there what your favorite piece from the collection is how you’d wear it.)
🎀 Winners will be announced on Instagram, Friday, January 19 at 10 am EST. Winners will be chosen at random. Winners must be US based.
Back to work…
OK…now that we’ve had our fun I guess I should go back to regularly scheduled Monday morning newsletter sourcing and story type content!
Recently published stories include (yay!) two Forbes gift guides - Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Heart-Shaped Food Gifts and Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Bougie Culinary Gifts and some food content as we rev up for a healthier and happy new year - for Today.com, 27 healthy fast food items at popular US chains, according to dietitians and doctors and for Southern Living: Can You Freeze Brussels Sprouts? (spoiler alert: yes!).
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!
Today.com: 27 healthy fast food items at popular US chains, according to dietitians and doctors
Southern Living: Can You Freeze Brussels Sprouts?
Forbes.com: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Heart-Shaped Food Gifts
Forbes.com: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Bougie Culinary Gifts
Clean Plates: 12 Weight Loss Strategies That Are Easy To Follow, Say Experts
Clean Plates: 7 Mediterranean Diet Dinner Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This One Safety Device
Forbes.com: Pantone’s 2024 Color Of The Year Is Resulting In Glorious Peach-Hued Cocktails
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.
Clean Plates
The Healthy Trader Joe's Sauce I Use in *Everything*: I’m writing a love letter to TJ's zhoug. I’m obviously going to cover what it is, its traditional uses, what I use it for, etc. But if any chefs/RDs want to chirp in about why THEY love it and some nutritional value, uses, benefits, etc, please email me.
Forbes
Valentine’s Day 2024 Gift Guide: Most Romantic Kitchenware - Think stuff like a heart-shaped plate, ink or red pots/pans, perhaps rose or heart shaped glassware, cutesy things for the romantic that loves date night in the kitchen - and truly what says date night more than a heart shaped casserole dish and pretty pink cocktail glasses? Let those images guide you in your pitching! - This is my final (unless something changes) of my 2024 Valentine's Day Gift Guide assignments. ALL of my other V-Day gift guides have wrapped up. Please pitch me in the following format: Item name, description, where available online, price, and LINK to high res image. Items can only be considered if all these deliverables are touched on so please double check before emailing!
For Valentine’s Day, I’m also rounding up sexy and/or romantic cocktails. These MUST exist on the menu at a bar or restaurant. I do not need recipes. Please send me name of the drink, where it’s available, description, quote from bartender/mixologist/chef/owner about the drink, name of person being quoted (I can’t TELL you how often this part is forgotten!) and an image with appropriate photo credits by 1/19
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’m available for PR team virtual meetings to answer questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts.
Have a great day!
Congratulations on the collab! So adorable - love it all! Sadly I missed the giveaway since I was OOO and actually offline ;) But hoping I can participate in your upcoming event! Have a great week Aly!
I love all the bows and headbands-- so you and so perfect! Congrats again Aly!!