Monday: Procrastination is the devil - and here's how it can ruin a PR/media relationship.
PS: Grab my Valentine's Day gift guide webinar recording now - for free! - as my gift to you!
Good morning!
Great news for those who have been following along with the days of my life the last two weeks: I have a kitchen again! I can’t even begin to tell you the simple pleasure of washing dishes and doing basic cooking after not being able to for a few weeks. Perspective TRULY is everything. Thanks to everyone who came on this journey with me (and apologies to EVERYONE I had to cancel dinners and events with the last two weeks because of what was going on here…now that we’re back in business, I’m going to make it up to all of you!).
To that end, I have a busy week in store, with plans just about every night. And, considering I’ve essentially been locked in my home since new years, I can’t possibly be happier about that :)
Today, I wanted talk a little bit about procrastination. Weeks ago (before THE GREAT FLOOD, in fact), I was sent a few pieces of equipment that would serve as an update to old and out-of-date tech in my home. This wasn’t PR related, at all, it was sent by the service provider as part of my service. However, it just sat there for weeks. I was procrastinating because I was honestly a little afraid I didn’t have the tech knowhow to do it correctly, and put off what my anxiety told me would be certain ruin.
Yesterday, I finally just took the plunge and set it up. It took 10 minutes. And the results were immediately tangible. Of course, I berated myself for not doing it sooner, but it got me to thinking how in our industry, procrastination harms us all and can ruin all our PR/media relationships.
Here’s why: It’s important to remember that as media, we run on tight deadlines. We’re always on all sorts of deadlines. We’re dealing with assignment deadlines, embargo’s, last-minute edits and rewrite requests from our editors — and if on the PR end, there’s a delay in a quote, it may arrive after the story is already filed (which means you’re out of luck!), a pitch that misses the editorial window (again, sorry!), or a promised follow-up never materializes in time (again, oops!), from the media side, procrastination looks like unreliability—even if the delay was unintentional.
The reality is there’s a whole lot of names in our inbox that are representing often pretty similar products or clients. I can promise you, we’ll always remember our PR relationship who responds quickly, anticipates needs, and follows through without chasing.
We’re all human, and stuff can come up for any of us (see…the last two weeks of MY life!), but try to keep in mind that procrastination can unintentionally communicate to us that our deadline isn’t a priority. And if we don’t have that sense of mutual trust and respect between us, it could erode the relationship ultimately, as a journalist may stop reaching out proactively, and skip that publicist when sourcing experts.
Ultimately, here’s the big secret of it all, it all boils down to: We’re going to consistently turn to PR contacts who make our jobs easier, not harder.
It’s important to remember that all relationships are built on trust. When procrastination becomes a pattern, just like in other relationships, in this one: journalists may doubt future promises, and ultimately, your promise just carries less weight.
Trust, once damaged, is difficult to rebuild in media circles. Something to think about on this Monday morning!
But also think about it from your perspective: I work on a lot of same-day turnaround stories. That’s why I send out this newsletter every day. Being timely is essential because sourcing opps are often time-sensitive, and to be honest - sometimes the source I include will boil down to being first or fast
A delayed response can mean another expert gets the quote, another brand gets the feature, or perhaps the story angle shifts away entirely.
Procrastination doesn’t just slow momentum—it may even eliminate opportunity.
Upcoming travel: I’ll be in Miami for SOBEWFF next month. If you’ll be there too, please let me know so I can say hi!
I’m also likely going to be in Charleston in early March for their Wine + Food festival. Keep in touch if you’ll be there, too!
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available going into Q1 2026!
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 :)
We can switch it up in any way you or your team needs. While most of my calls do end up being virtual, I just did one where we did our session over a martini lunch! I’m available for whatever your team prefers. Lets chat.
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 more than 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
I partnered with Pitchcraft to be able to share a special offer just for my readers: Use code ALY200: new users will get $200 off their first month of the monthly PR Membership or code ALY400: This one offers new users $400 off their first year of the annual PR Membership. This is a great network to join because it’s a community of both PR professionals and journalists working together to find better ways to work together and share opportunities, and you know how much I believe in all of that
Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who you’ve seen as the star expert panelist for several of our gift guide pitching workshops!) - she launched her new course, Affiliate Marketing & Performance-Based PR for Publicists - It’s built specifically to help PR pros and agencies add affiliate management as a core capability, something we all know is completely essential in today’s media landscape.
Check out our recent webinar recordings — now, for free!
Now available is our brand-new just released yesterday Valentine’s Day gift guide pitching webinar recording — grab that one right here.
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!)
Southern Living: We Asked Southern Chefs For The Best Thing They Ate This Year—Here’s What They Said
Travel & Leisure: Matching Sets Are My Secret to Staying Cozy on Long-haul Flights—Here Are 14 I’m Eyeing for Winter, From $27
Forbes.com: Cocktails And Dishes To Help You Après-Ski In Style
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler of 25 Years, and These Are the 18 Products I Swear By for Personal Safety in 2026
Travel & Leisure: This Gel Seat Cushion Makes Flights More Comfortable
Southern Living: The 3-Second Rule Is The Easiest Packing Method I’ve Ever Tried
Parade.com: How to Use an Air Fryer (Beginner’s Guide) - Parade
Apartment Therapy: My Packing Trick Helps Me Pack Perfectly Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
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 fun V-Day piece — Southern Chefs Agree: This Is The Best Store-Bought Chocolates To Pick Up This Valentine’s Day. I’m looking for chefs in or from the south to weigh in on what store-bought chocolates they love and have bought, and what makes them stand out.
Apartment Therapy
Looking for travel experts/packing experts to weigh in on a packing method I’m trying out for my next trip - it’s essentially the 10% rule or the next day edit of packing. I'll pack a few days before I go and then remove a thing or do. We tend to lean toward "just in case" things a lot and this helps me edit down. I’m going to breakdown what this looks like and how this works for me specifically with a step by step guide of my process, but I’d love your thoughts on if this is a good or bad rule to go by (and if you have tried something like this yourself!).
Yahoo Creators
Rounding up some great wellness-oriented items to give your home a refresh as you enter the new year — this may include items that will help you have a more restful sleep, streamline your kitchen, get you organized, and more. I’m also looking for products/services to give yourself a refresh in 2026. This can be everything from meal kits and subscription boxes to wellness items and so forth.
Valentine’s Day gift guides are here: I’m looking for gifts for him, wellness gifts, gifts for her, pet gifts, food/spirits gifts, and more. To pitch me for these guides, please be sure to include the following:
Name of item
Links to major retailers where sold (it’s in your best interest to include several retailer link options when pitching, especially major ones like Amazon)
Link to image and any necessary credits
Description why it’s a fit
Item must be currently available and currently in stock. Be sure to start a new email thread and be clear in the subject line what specific gift guide(s) you are pitching. Just replying to this email is a great way to get your pitch buried in a heap - we don’t want that! And, yes, in answer to all the questions in my inbox: These are all earned media, and not sponsored, guides.
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
Forbes
I’m seeking hot/spicy dishes (but not just spicy for the sake of spicy, but loaded with creativity and flavor) in honor of upcoming National Hot & Spicy Day.
For all my cocktail/dish pieces, the format for pitching remains:
Name of cocktail
Where served, city, state, URL
LINK to image of the drink and photo credit
description (NOT a recipe) of drink, and quote about drink, with appropriate credit.
Quote about the dish from chef/bartender and please remember to include the name of the person being quoted and their title.
Thanks!
Have a great day, and thanks again for being such an incredible community
<3
aly
"We’re going to consistently turn to PR contacts who make our jobs easier, not harder" -- YES!
Glad your kitchen is back in action Aly! Have a great week!