Good morning!

I hope everyone had a restful and relaxing weekend. I had a ton of gift guide-related content to complete, and for that reason you’ll notice that in the pending assignments section, there’s a whole lot of assignments that are no longer listed. That means they have been wrapped up and submitted, and you no longer have to worry about pitching for them. There’s a lot of others still pending though!

You'll also notice a lot of new links in the newly published stories section today (a batch published Friday and over the weekend) — including a handful of Valentine’s Day gift guides! — but one I really wanted to share here that I had so much fun with was a piece for The Kitchn, where I got to recreate the McBaguette from Emily In Paris!

Aly Walansky alywalansky.substack.com @alywalansky

For @thekitchn: I Tried the McBaguette Recipe from #EmilyInParis and It’s the Chic Upgrade to a Cheeseburger That I Can’t Stop Eating thekitchn.com/emily-in-paris…

Anyone who binged the latest season of this series knows that the was a pretty significant part of this season's plot, but it also seemed rather tasty - what's not to love about a cheeseburger on a baguette?! -- so I had to try to make it at home and the results were pretty delish!

You can grab the recipe in my story above.

I’m about halfway through Prince Harry’s Spare and it’s just so good. I keep on googling things from history just to get context and I’m learning so much! I hope all of you are enjoying it too.

I also wanted to thank everyone once again for coming out for last week’s NYC happy hour — I just feel so great about all the incredible feedback we got. I’m so glad that so many of you got so much out of it!

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Job Leads

Job leads are always welcome and always free. Please send a brief description of what you are looking for and contact info to alywalansky@gmail.com -- this newsletter publishes six days a week, so it'll go in the next available newsletter. Please feel free to send and share leads whether or not you are a subscriber -- I just want to connect great people with their perfect jobs.

Senior Account Executive + Account Coordinator (Consumer): Segal Communications is a public relations and marketing communications agency that helps the world’s leading companies, organizations, and individuals establish their brands, build their reputations, and amplify their stories. The team of people who make up SC are smart, strategic, and creative, and we’re looking for a San Francisco Bay Area-based Senior Account Executive and Account Coordinator to join the team. Both these roles will be primarily working on our growing roster of lifestyle clients. Details and job requirements can be found here. Contact careers@segalcommunications.com with questions.

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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!

RetailMeNot: 14 Best Galentine’s Day Gifts for Your BFFs
RetailMeNot: Affordable Valentine’s Day Gifts That Show Lots of Love on a Budget
SPY.com: Stylish Coffee Table Books That Double as Decor

TODAY.com: 10 drugstore wrinkle creams experts say are worth it — starting at $11
Forbes: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide: The Best Aphrodisiacs To Gift
Forbes: It's Time To Plan Our Wine Pairings For Valentine's Day Dinner
YourTango: 7 Sneaky Ways Traveling Actually Makes You Healthier, Says Science
The Kitchn: I Tried the McBaguette Recipe from “Emily in Paris” and It’s the Chic Upgrade to a Cheeseburger That I Can’t Stop Eating
Food Network: Kelly Clarkson and The Jonas Brothers Collaborate On New Salty Snack
HelloGiggles: 9 New Products That Will Help You Be Healthier in 2023
Forbes: 30 Romantic Cocktails To Set The Mood On Valentine’s Day

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.

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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

What’s the deal with the lettuce shortage? If you’ve noticed it in your own shopping, you aren’t alone…I’d love a grocery supply expert or a farming or gardening expert who can chat with me over email, as well as a restaurant owner or two about how it's causing them problems? And if any of you reading this have spent a crazy amount for lettuce recently, please let me know. You don’t need to be an expert for that part — just a person who is …like me, buying some lettuce and getting some sticker shock.

Basically where I’m going with this is…why there is a lettuce shortage, how it's manifesting itself for restaurant owners and normal people who buy groceries, and what you can do about it? Is there a lettuce alternative you can use? Is one kind more likely to not be $$$ than another? Looking forward to your responses on this one!

Forbes

I’ve just been assigned FIVE new Valentine’s Day gift guides. (My inbox is already shuddering in fear…). The topics are:

The best gifts for a romantic dinner at home

The best luxury seafood boxes

The best global specialty ingredients for the culinary traveler

The best interactive gifts for couples who love to cook together

For all of these guides (and honestly, most guides for any outlet, I would prefer all pitches be sent in the following format):

Name of product
link where sold, price
Description of product
LINK to high res image

*please please make sure that an item is not discontinued, and is currently available and in stock to ship and arrive before Valentine’s Day before pitching me. Sound obvious? I got a LOT of holiday pitches that did not fit this qualification!

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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!)

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Virtual 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've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff (Recently I even joined in on an agency’s team retreat right here in Brooklyn — it was so fun and I made so many new friends!) and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another.

If you are interested in setting anything up for your own team in the coming months, please email me and we'll get something on the books! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts. If you are a freelance publicist and want to join in with a few other freelance publicist friends and set something up, we can do that as well!

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Thank you for reading Aly Walansky's Newsletter. This post is public so feel free to share it.

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Have a great day!

<3

Aly Walansky's Newsletter

Monday: Recreating a tasty bit of Emily in…