Monday: Sourcing products and commentary for assignments for several major outlets + upcoming travel news!

Plus: A modern take on traditional desksides!

Good morning!

It was a busy weekend that involved some household organization (assignment related, actually — only way to get me to do such tasks some days) and preparing for Lily’s big birthday later this week (she’s going to be 18!!!).

This weekend’s Industry Insights newsletter was about the difference between COB and EOD in deadlines, and why it matters so much when pitching and submitting commentary.

Lots of new content published over the weekend. For Forbes, 20 Cocktails That Will Win At Any Olympics Games Viewing Party and 30 Drinks And Dishes To Enjoy On National Tequila Day. For Yahoo Life, What is a siesta? The history of the afternoon nap and its benefits, and for Southern Living: This Free Packing Spreadsheet Is Going Viral - Here's Why.

Check out more recently published content in the section below!

A modern take on traditional desksides

DeskSides is a marketplace for brands and journalists to foster meaningful connections. The platform acts as a facilitator, allowing brands to share their stories with top-tier journalists who can bring these stories to life, and allows journalists free access to a database of vetted story sources and a set of workflow tools designed to make their processes more efficient. 

The platform has just launched their latest tool for journalists, Story Sources. Journalists are now able to post queries for stories they're working on, and brands are able to submit their pitches for inclusion. The platform is always free for journalists to sign up, and brands can email allison@desksides.com for a free month — tell her Aly sent you!

Upcoming travel news!

I’m going to be in San Francisco for a few days in mid-August. It’s work-related, but I should have a window of free time one of the days - so keep in touch if you are in the area!

The steepest discount I’ve ever offered on consulting sessions

In exciting news, I’m doing something I’ve never done before: I’m currently offering 20% discounts on my virtual consulting/lunch & learn sessions. Times are really tough and I am hoping to make these insights as accessible as possible to any of you who are interested. If you want to schedule a session for yourself or your team, to discuss anything from planning an event, media dinner, or press trip to mailers, pitching best practices, followups to…well… anything else…drop me an email at alywalansky@gmail.com and lets chat!

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: 20 Cocktails That Will Win At Any Olympics Games Viewing Party

• Forbes: 30 Drinks And Dishes To Enjoy On National Tequila Day

• Yahoo Life: What is a siesta? The history of the afternoon nap and its benefits

• Apartment Therapy: We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On and Here’s What They Said

• Plate: Vinyl Record Bars Are Taking Over and We’re Not Mad About It.

• Southern Living: This Free Packing Spreadsheet Is Going Viral — Here's Why

• Southern Living: Can You Freeze Sour Cream?

• RetailMeNot: 55+ College Student Discounts

• RetailMeNot: How Bulk Buying Helps Me Maintain My Household Grocery Budget – and Stay Well-Stocked

• Travel & Leisure: This Genius Gadget Is the Travel Accessory Everyone's Wearing to Stay Cool in the Heat — and It's 20% Off

• Clean Plates: 7 Cookout Faves from Trader Joe’s That Dietitians Love

• Clean Plates: 11 Best Seafood Picks at Trader Joe’s, According to RDs

• Apartment Therapy: We Asked 6 Travel Writers for Their Best Packing Hacks, and Their Tips Are Ingenious.

• Travel & Leisure: I Always Wear These Comfy, Wide-leg Amazon Pants on Flights — Plus, 13 More Pairs I'm Eyeing From $12

• Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $35

• Apartment Therapy, I’m a Travel Writer and This Is My Time-Saving Packing Hack

• RetailMeNot: Don’t Spend a Fortune at Those Salad Places: How I Build My Own Salads At Home

• Travel + Leisure: The One Safety Item You're Likely Forgetting to Pack, According to a Longtime Solo Female Traveler

• Saatva’s Sleep Enlightened: 6 Surprising Sleep Mask Benefits

• HerMoney: How to get cheap hotel rooms when traveling

• RetailMeNot: How Using My Air Fryer Makes Cooking on a Small Budget (and In a Small Space) Possible

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.

Newsweek Readers' Choice Awards

I’m participating once again in the panel of experts for the Newsweek Readers' Choice Awards (you may recall I recently participated in nominations in the best gourmet subscription box category and best outdoor grill. As part of this program, I’m part of panel of travel/food experts who helped to create nominee lists for the Readers Choice Awards in a variety of categories, and my next categories will be best mattresses and best apres ski spots. If you have any you think should be on my radar, drop me a line!

Yahoo! Health

I’m working on two roundups and I have very specific sourcing needs for each one.

Best cooling fans of 2024: For this, I’m looking to find the best cooling fans for sleeping —I’m looking for a variety of different types and styles of fans that could accommodate different needs. I’d love to speak to a few sleep experts (coaches, researchers/scientists, MDs specializing in sleep) to discuss why/how a cooling fan might be able to help with sleep. Also: I’m sourcing cooling fans to test. I’m looking ultimately for about 10 categories of cooling fans, such as bladeless, bedside, portable, budget, tower, floor fan, pedestal, oscillating, best for large spaces, best smart fan, most versatile, 2-in-1 (for instance, fan/air conditioner, fan/alarm clock or fan/air purifier, etc.)

Best sleep trackers: I’m rounding of the best sleep trackers of 2024. First, I’m looking to interview sleep experts (scientists/researchers, MDs specializing in sleep, etc.) to discuss the use of sleep trackers, how they do/don't help, how to know if your tracker is accurate, etc., and then test in various categories such as sleep tracking ring, wristband, 2-in-1 fitness and sleep tracker, mattress sensor, contactless, app - i’m looking for most accurate, most comfortable, best value, best for tracking sleep stages, best for sleep coaching, and best for babies (this is a slightly different category, so for this one, when pitching, keep in mind that sleep tracking devices for babies have a different reason/purpose, and the insights are important for parents' use/information/may be helpful to provide to pediatricians.)

RetailMeNot

This month, I’m working on a story regarding how to stock up on spices and save at Costco, as well as some general tips on how to stock up on spices and streamline your spice cabinet and spend less but have more, make your own blends, and so fort. I’ll have updated details as far as what exactly I need very soon, but will be open to both expert sources and products to link to for this one.

Saatva

How to Prevent Bug Bites at Night (and How to Sleep With Itchy Bug Bites) - For Saatva, I’m doing a story on everyone’s least favorite season - bug bite season. Whether you're camping and sleeping in the great outdoors or a mosquito makes its way indoors through an open bedroom window, getting bitten while you sleep is a seriously annoying issue, and the itch can keep you awake at night. In this story, I’m looking to explore how to prevent bug bites at night and how to sleep with itchy bug bites. I’m looking for expert commentary as far as how to prevent being bitten at night by mosquitos and other pests. Is there anything you can do to keep them out of your bedroom? Anything you should wear to cover up if you're camping? Also, a few strategies for easing the itch while you sleep if you do end up being bitten (would LOVE a derm to weigh in on this!). — FYI: I realize that generally stories about getting bit at night tend to be about bed bugs, but this is not a bed bug story, as we’ve already done that - but specifically mosquitos and such that come through window screens and AC vents or are out and about while out at night. Open to product pitches as well!

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