Monday: Newly published gift guides! And: A fun new assignment I'm working on as we prepare to 'step' into the new year.
Also: How to stay productive (and sane) while coping with all that election stress.
Good morning!
I realize that we’re all pretty much a bundle of exploding anxiety with the election coming up tomorrow…but lets try to get as much done as we can today so we can focus on current events tomorrow.
Related: How to Pitch Media in an Election Season
I know we’re all feeling a whole lot of stress and emotional fatigue right now. The whole world feels like it’s out of our control, and there’s so much anxiety and uncertainty about what’s to come…and that could lead a lot of us feeling pretty paralyzed with fear. That’s the last thing you need when you are trying to meet deadlines and be productive.
I’m been pretty open with my own dealings with anxiety and insomnia - especially in the last year or so - and some of what helps me get what I need to get done is:
Doing my best to maintain my work-life balance: We all need to get what we need to get done, but we can’t make our whole life be a balance of stress and deadlines and invoicing. Take some mental health time to breath and enjoy the people you love when you can (like I have dinner plans tonight with two close friends, and I couldn’t be more excited!).
Manage your media consumption: I say this as someone in the media, and I know that’s somewhat wild…but you can’t spend your whole night doomscrolling social media and then expect to sleep - or wake up in the morning feeling like a human being. You also can’t get work done during the day if you are constantly following your newsfeeds. Dedicate some social media time - give it a specific allotment - and beyond that, do a social media blackout during your time you need to be working. It’ll give your brain a breather as well.
Work on staying grounded: Make this part of your job - find a way to breathe any way you can. While this may be going on a walk for some people or gentle yoga for others, it’s all about ways to reduce your anxiety any way you can.
Spend your time and energy on supportive people: There’s a lot of division and anger and people spewing some wild crapola out there. Don’t feed into it. Spend your time and energy with the people who will support you and make you feel safe and heard. If a conversation or a situation ever feels overwhelming, remove yourself from it before it escalates.
To that end, I actually have a lot going on this week!
I have had two of my holiday gift guides publish in the last few days and I have a few new pending assignments — including a fun new piece for Yahoo, timed for all of your new year, new you goals.
Newly published today for Forbes - Holiday Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Starter Kitchen and Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Beefy Texas-Inspired Gifts For The Southwestern Carnivore. If your client is included, I super appreciate any social media shares - please don’t forget to tag me so I can share your posts as well!
This weekend’s Industry Insights email was a big topic - Pitches not landing? Some quick ways to get your email noticed..
Did you catch that I’m currently offering a 50% off deal on subscriptions — and you can lock in that price now…forever? Upgrade your subscription now!
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!
Newsweek Readers Choice: Best U.S. Wellness Resort (I was on the panel that created the list of nominees! as well as those for Best Packing Cube, Best Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!
Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Starter Kitchen
Forbes: Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Beefy Texas-Inspired Gifts For The Southwestern Carnivore
Forbes: Amaya To Bring Vegas Vibes And Tulum Flavor To The Cosmopolitan.
Food Network: HelloFresh Made Rachel Green's Thanksgiving Trifle Better
Food Network: Trader Joe’s Finally Has a White Queso Dip and It Was Well Worth the Wait
Clean Plates: Smart Shopping: Add Ceylon Cinnamon to Your Cart
Forbes.com: Michael Mina’s Orla Is A Beautiful Fusion Of Egyptian And Mediterranean Flavors
Plate Magazine: Marcel Vigneron’s Cracked Potatoes Make a Case for Freezing Your Fries
Forbes: José Andrés To Open His First Arizona-Based Restaurant Concept
Today.com: 27 Healthy Fast Food Menu Items, According to Dietitians
Southern Living: Can You Eat Squash Skin?
Southern Living: The Difference Between Chives And Green Onions
Forbes: 12 Halloween Cocktails That Will Add Some Spirit To This Spooky Season
Apartment Therapy: I Asked a Chef to Help Me Organize My Fridge, and Here’s What He Said
Yahoo: Get a handle on your sleep health with the best sleep trackers for 2024, tested and reviewed
Travel & Leisure: I Tried Amazon’s ‘Magical’ Sleep Mask on a Long-haul Flight — and Now It’s the Most Important Item in My Bag.
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.
Yahoo Life
I’m going to be rounding up the best pedometers for counting your steps. This will likely include a smartwatch and fitness tracker, but would primarily be basic-style pedometers that you can clip to your waist or wear on a lanyard, etc.. this will be a tested roundup like the stories I did on cooling fans and sleep trackers, so I’ll need to be calling in a bunch to try over the next few weeks…if you have one, please email me with more info now to get a beat on the rush. I’ll be testing each one for factors such as reliable, accurate, and easy to use, but once I have all the details of this assignment pegged out, I’ll also be seeking some expert sources to ask some requests regarding pedometers and what to look for - I imagine this will likely include personal trainers, coaches, fitness experts,exercise physiologists, and so forth.
Southern Living
I’m looking for southern bartenders/chefs to chat with me about their favorite bourbons - email me for more info!
I’m also working on a story on wilted cilantro leaves and looking for some chefs (southern ideally) as well as food safety experts and produce experts to weigh in on that - I have specific questions here, so please don’t jump the gun and send commentary, send me an email with your credentials first and we’ll take it from there. Thanks!
Forbes.com
Gift guide time!
I’m seeking the best gifts for the martini lover. This could be obvious martini ingredients, such as vodka or gin, great olives, and so forth - but also glassware, bar tools, and fun martini-themed other items that don’t even have to be edible in any way but along the concept of …fun for martini fans!.
If you want to pitch me for these gift guides, please be sure to include:
Name of product
A few sentences about why you think I should consider it for this particular guide
a few links to online retail for this product (MUST be available online and currently in stock)
A LINK to an image of the product
Price
Note: I’m ONLY interested in being pitched products for these guides. Please don’t send me your influencer or chef’s picks as their favorites - this is not an expert commentary piece. Thanks!
Also for Forbes, I’m rounding up the most exciting restaurant/bar openings happening in Vegas later this year/early next. I have some great ones on my radar already, but trying to round it out a bit more.
Also: Do you know of an airport lounge that has an especially interesting F&B offering/feature? I want to hear about it!
One more: For Forbes, I’m rounding up fun and unique Thanksgiving-themed cocktails or dishes (and please don’t just pitch me a table of turkey and trimmings for this one - I want Thanksgiving-inspired, say, perhaps if someone is doing Thanksgiving poutine or Thanksgiving egg rolls or gumbo or the like. These must be on the menu at a bar or restaurant, at least as a limited-time special (longer term is fine too), and when pitching me, please include Name of rest/bar, where it’s located, link to their website, description of the cocktail, and a quote from a bartender/mixologist/chef about cocktail/dish as well as a good-quality photo and appropriate photo credits.
Plate Magazine
I’m putting out bites/drinks of the week feelers, which is sort of a drink/dish spotlight piece. (Some examples are this Peruvian-inspired sweet potato in Savannah and a molecular banana daiquiri in Chicago.) Basically if you are pitching me something for this, think along the lines of: Is this dish/bite something new? What interesting techniques are used to make it come together? If the technique is simple, what’s the hook? An interesting ingredient? Something being made in house or in an interesting way? What’s the story behind the dish? What inspired it? Is there a cultural/family story behind the dish? An ingredient the chef got their hands on? Love to hear what you might have for me!
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!)
<3
aly