Monday: Some quick tips on how to write more effective email subjects and pitch intros + here's what I'm working on going into this busy week!
Good morning!
In the event you are having a case of the Mondays today, let us take a moment to talk about what happened with last night’s Netflix Love Is Blind livestream event.
Plagued with delays, and errors and communication misfires (one can make a love metaphor here if they want), it was absolutely an example of no matter how tech-savvy you may be, and how much planning and staffing and promoting you may do, sometimes things do go wrong — and that’s OK. It’s a learning experience for everyone.
But it was also an example of how important it is to be tuned into what is going on in the news cycle and pivot to the moment — everyone from Blockbuster to Bravo had so fun with their social media responses.
(And, come on, Blockbuster has probably been waiting DECADES for this opportunity to snark Netflix.)
Anyway…
This will be something of a whirlwind week because I head to Ireland tomorrow. I’ll only been gone a few days and I hope to still send out this email a few times while traveling, but due to a pretty packed schedule and the time difference, you probably won’t be seeing it at its normal daily time for the most part…
But I’m so excited. Nothing says getting more involved in your martinis like going to where the gin was made and foraging for the botanicals that go into it…
(How’s that for farm to table, people?)
In other (sort of) farm related news, as longtime readers may recall, I maintain a bit of a window herb garden in my apartment (try it! store-bought herbs are so expensive and usually lead to waste) and the new herbs I planted for spring are starting to sprout. As a home cook, this is an especially exciting development for creating new seasonal recipes. (I try to have a bit of a theme in each season’s herbs — so once these start to sprout a bit more, I’ll show you more.)
I haven’t done one of my productivity tips in a little bit, and I wanted to share one based on a topic that comes up often in my consulting sessions and workshops or webinars. People often ask about what journalists are looking for from PR when seeing an email subject and opening an email and reading that all-so-important intro paragraph.
As far as the email subject, people often ask if we want cute and punny or straight to the point. The best advice here: Cuteness is not necessary. Nor is a clever pun. What IS necessary is being as descriptive as possible. If your pitch is about Barbiecore pink Tudor-esque goblets to cheers with while watching the coronation — fit that into the headline? Why is that? Because if I’m working on a story on coronation watching party, cool royal-inspired goblets OR the Barbiecore trend, I can search for any of those things in my inbox and quickly find your pitch.
As for the intro paragraph, I’m all about the inverted news pyramid we all learned about in college journalism classes. For those not familiar, that is simply fitting those big important questions - the who, what, where, when, why, how - into the first paragraph. If you can work in a shocking fact or statistic or tie it to a news peg, do it right there — show, don’t tell. Then, based on how effective you do this in that first paragraph, that’s how we know if we have anything pending that it could be a fit for and read further, or, perhaps, if there’s anything in there that has enough meat that we can shape it into something we want to develop a story idea based on.
Which reminds me of another question that comes up often: Yes, no matter how many anchor clients a freelancer may have, and how many assignments are sent our way by those ongoing relationships, we’re all constantly developing and sending pitches to both ongoing and (hopefully) future new clients — that’s how we keep expanding our outlets and our coverage areas and (hopefully, again!) continue to write interesting and diverse content. In our business, if we’re not constantly doing everything we can to grow and expand our coverage, we risk becoming complacent and that’s dangerous on several levels.
We’re all in this together, help us help each other.
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!
In case you missed it, I was recently a guest on a podcast. Check it out here — I share some easy-to-follow tips on how emerging brands can get the attention of busy editors.
Speaking of podcasts, I was a guest on the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast last month (I ADORE Lexie Smith!), and you can still catch it here. We chatted at length about pitching, the ever-changing landscape of the editorial process, and more.
(Also, if you host a podcast that has anything to do with media/PR/writer content or food/bev/travel content and are interested in me coming on as a guest, I’d love if you reach out!)
Forbes.com: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie May Exist, And It's From A Baking Mix
YourTango: The Perfect Gift For Your Boo, Based On Their Love Language
The Kitchn: Tupperware May Be Going Out of Business Soon — Here’s Why
Food Network: Fortnum & Mason Launches New Collection In Celebration of Coronation of King Charles III
Forbes: Nyetimber Launches Bottle In Honor Of The Coronation Of King Charles III
Forbes: New York City Is Getting A Malibu Barbie Cafe This Summer
Clean Plates: The Best Whole Foods Salad Dressings, According to Nutritionist
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.
RetailMeNot
Father's Day Gifts for Every Type of Dad: This is an update of last year’s story, and I’m looking for great gifts that are affordable ("affordable" obviously varies by budget, but I’m trying to stay under $200 and have a wide range of prices) for a variety of categories. The categories I’m going for in this guide include: Foodie dad, Techie dad, The dad who has everything, fashionable dad, outdoorsy dad, indoorsy dad, bookworm dad, handy dad, the Dad who's trying to downsize and doesn't want clutter, for the fitness-obsessed dad, so keep this in mind when pitching.
Cheap Baby Shower Favors (Under $5 per Person): Shower favors aren't a requirement, but if you're hosting a shower and find them fun, or you've been put on favor duty, you are likely on a budget and looking for some inexpensive options. "Cheap" is relative, but I’m trying to stay under $5 per favor. Note: Consider when pitching that these favors do not need to be a single product – can be several items put together. Could be "Bags of Candy" (which requires you to buy some candy and bags) or "Cute Baby Succulents")
TODAY.com
I’m rounding up Cinco de Mayo food deals at chain restaurants. I’m not looking for free delivery or reward point type of deals at this time but more BOGOs, freebies, discounts, etc. Please be sure to tell me how to claim the deal (i.e. coupon code, downloading app, etc) when responding.
Forbes.com
I’m working on the following three Mother’s Day gift guides:
The Best Mail-Order Dinners — I’m looking for dinners that can be ordered and shipped to their door. This can be complete meal/recipe kits or readymade meals she just had to pull together or reheat and can have a full beautiful gourmet dinner ready without even having to leave home.
The Best Pantry Staples For From-Scratch Cooks - This is the mom who doesn't love meal kits or semi-homemade meals but wants to do everything from scratch -- so this could be the ingredients to help her do that, from rare and exotic spices to high-end flours and great olive oil. Like she's the mom that won't buy the readymade simmer sauce but rather source the 12 different spices she needs to make it herself.
The Best Grilling Gear: Why do dads get the premium on grilling gifts? Lots of women love to grill, whether it's a gorgeous steak or lobster tails and veggies. This will be both grilling accessories and also items to put on the grill.
For any of these gift guides, please pitch in this format:
Product name
URL where sold, price
description of why it’s a fit for this guide
LINK to image
I’m also looking for home entertaining experts to send some commentary over email about how to plan your own at-home coronation watch party.
Finally, I am looking for bars/restaurants around the world that have created specialty cocktails in honor of the coronation of King Charles III this May. I’ll need the usual — where it is, what’s in it, why it’s a perfect cocktail for the occasion, a quote from a bartender/owner/chef, and a high res image. I’m really excited about this one, so lets try to find some great cocktails!
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've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff 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. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat!
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!
Have a great day!
Aly, that post was epic! I really appreciated the subject line and the show- don't tell reminder.
Wishing you an amazing trip and week! Sally
I’ll be using your tips about headlines. Thank you so much.