Monday: Some tips to be more successful when pitching + newly published stories and what's new this week.
Happy Monday!
First of all, thanks so much to everyone who sent sweet notes about my new pizza collab — it meant the world to me! The Dirty Aly pizza is so fun (and pairs great with martinis!), and I hope some of you in NYC end up having a chance to try it (and please tell me what you think if you do!).
Published in the last few days, For Forbes.com: Patrick Mahomes And Travis Kelce Partner On Upscale Kansas City Steakhouse, and for a bit of whimsy: Hop Over To These 11 Bars Nationwide To Try Their Fun Easter Cocktails.
For Travel & Leisure, I wrote about a fantastic sale if you need to stock up on shoes for spring. Zappos' St. Patrick's Day Sale Has Us Feeling Lucky — Hoka, Birkenstock, and More Are Up to 55% Off — and in more shopping news — RetailMeNot: 15 Easter Sales That Shouldn’t Be Missed for 2024.
This weekend’s Industry Insights edition of my newsletter was about how to make sure your email does not end up in the spam folder (it happens!).
Purim is coming up later this week and I’m looking for cocktails and dishes created at restaurants and bars nationwide in honor of the festivities - if you have any that may fit, please scroll down for more info on pitching that and other upcoming stories!
You can still grab the recording of our Mother’s Day Gift Guide AMA Zoom Event!
Thanks for attending last week’s Mother’s Day Gift Guide AMA Zoom Event, cohosted by my dear friend and badass journalist Alice Dubin. We had a blast and a full house and dozens of amazing questions on everything from helping your pitch to stand out, to better email subject lines to followups and photo submission best practices and SO MUCH MORE. You can catch more information on what we covered and how to access the recording here.
So honored to see Muck Rack included me in their 2024 list of top ten most popular freelance journalists. Check out the list here.
Today's tip
Today, I wanted to go back to basics and give some tips and advice for getting better results when pitching (or at least, when pitching me!).
Please follow instructions! Every day, I send out my story leads in my free newsletter and ask people to start a new thread and email my personal email address and not the Substack email address. Every single day people ignore those directions. I also often see people ignoring the formatting requests of the pitch, and just sending half or a third of what I need. Or disregarding the deadline. The best way to be included in my stories is, simply, to give me the information I need how and when I need it. It’s that simple.
Emails only. I touched on this above, but it’s something I go through a lot and I bring it up here often because it can get very frustrating. If you want to pitch me, please email me. Do not text me, Instagram DM me, Facebook message me, or call me. It’s the best way to have your email seen and your pitch used.
Update requests. This is something that I go through often, and I’m going to count it among pitch guidelines. If a story has already published, it’s not possible at that time to add your client to the list. I can’t turn a roundup of 10 mocktails to 12 mocktails because you didn’t pitch me in time. You can pitch me for FUTURE content that is similar, but once a story is published, it’s done. Too late to pitch me for it. I can’t “squeeze” you in.
Expert commentary. I can’t believe I even have to write this here, but it’s something I have run into countless times. If you are responding to a query, you cannot just refer me to your expert’s book or blog post or previously published material. If I am quoting your expert, it has to be content that is fresh and unpublished. If you try to sneak it in and it’s otherwise, I’m going to find out. And it’s going to be an issue. To that end, if I say I need expert sources for a story, please do not send ahead commentary without checking in with me first for guidance and questions (unless I have included those questions in the initial post. You are just wasting your time.) And always include a NAME and title. “From the team at XYZ cookware” is not quotable. And PLEASE honor my deadline. Just this week I had three different people who I had sent interview questions for my chives story - just ghost. If you can no longer honor a deadline, please let me know BEFORE you miss it so I can ask someone else.
Social shares. SUPER appreciated. If I include you or your client in a story, please share it on social media. And please make sure to take the time to tag me and the outlet. It’s SO appreciated and so helpful.
Samples. OK - I’m going to do a separate post entirely on this soon because it’s a big topic all its own. But off the top, please understand that samples are for consideration, and not a guarantee of inclusion. They are also not “gifts” or “in exchange for.” And please always ask before sending something, especially if it’s heavy/large or perishable or requires some sort of signature or is a messenger. Taking a moment to touch base can be incredibly helpful both to the writer, but to you and your client and their budget. No one wants to waste budget on a box of fish only to find out it arrived when the writer wasn’t even home and it just sat and rotted in their apartment building lobby. Right? And yet, it’s happened!
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!
Forbes.com: Patrick Mahomes And Travis Kelce Partner On Upscale Kansas City Steakhouse
Forbes.com: Hop Over To These 11 Bars Nationwide To Try Their Fun Easter Cocktails
Travel & Leisure: Zappos' St. Patrick's Day Sale Has Us Feeling Lucky — Hoka, Birkenstock, and More Are Up to 55% Off
RetailMeNot: 15 Easter Sales That Shouldn’t Be Missed for 2024
Food Network: Del Monte’s Newest Pineapple Is Made for One
Forbes.com: The Settepani Rainbow Cookie Croissant Offers A Fresh Spin On A Dessert Classic
Forbes.com: A Soup Made With Louis XIII Cognac May Be The Ultimate Luxury For Seafood Lovers
Forbes.com: 10 Relaxing Nightcaps To Enjoy In Honor Of National Sleep Awareness Month
RetailMeNot: Savings Star Origin Story: How I Learned to Eat Well (In NY!) On a Shoestring Budget
Best Life: 11 Things You Should Put Away When Guests Come Over, Experts Say
RetailMeNot: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work
RetailMeNot: Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Is My Secret to Packing for a Week in a Single Carry-on Bag
Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane
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
How to Save on Food Delivery Apps: You may have picked up that everyone is noticing that food delivery is VERY expensive. What was a lifeline during the pandemic and then a habit has become a huge budget drain for many. But the reality is — sometimes you just have to order food delivery (maybe you're sick, maybe you want the convenience factor). So what steps can you take to make sure you save the most you can? So I’m looking for expert tips (actionable) on saving money on food delivery.
I’m working on a story about my preference for growing fresh herbs in my home rather than spending grocery budget on herbs at the grocery store (which can get pricey and also have a short shelf life). The caveat here is that this is a story geared not towards those who have gardens or outdoor space but those maintaining herb gardens within small apartment kitchens - I’m writing this essay format, so my own experiences, but open to items shoppable online at major retailers to help make a small apartment herb garden prosper.
Budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter: As you all know, I write a lot of content for RMN related to budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter. I’m going to be working on a monthly column on the subject of cooking/eating well on a budget, and I’d love you to pitch me products/ideas to consider for it - maybe a new meal-stretching product that is a good deal at a grocery store, an awesome product to try that may cut my meal prep time in half, other themes as far as saving money on food/cooking/eating and doing it in a way that is smarter.
Forbes
Are any bars/restaurants planning a fun cocktail or dish in honor of Purim? If you have something, please email me with the name of the cocktail, a description (not a recipe), a quote from the bartender or chef, and an image. (And please remember to consult my nifty photo guidelines here.) Please pitch me by March 20 for this one. Reminder: The cocktail or dish MUST exist on a menu at a restaurant or bar either permanently or as a special.
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.
<3
aly
Really enjoying all your content lately, Aly! Keep it up. 👍🏼