TGIF! Here's what I'm working on before you run out the door to make cookies for Santa...

There's gift guides...lots of them!

Good morning!

Trying to send out one last pre-holiday newsletter before everyone goes off to be merry for the weekend…

For anyone still at work (or not at work and trying to escape all that merriment for a bit), I have a bunch of pending assignments going into next week and the new year, including some new years related content and a handful of Valentine’s Day 2024 gift guides.

Reminder: Looking for best practices when pitching gift guides? Alice Dubin and I hosted a Valentine’s gift guide-centric AMA session recently and you can still catch the recording! Get all the deets here.

Send me your questions!

I want to take some time over the holiday to answer some of your questions — this can be anything related to pitching, followups, events, mailers, trips….you name it. I’ll share the answers to your questions in a future Industry Insights edition (so while ANYONE can send a question…you’ll need to upgrade your subscription to read the answers…)

Thanks to everyone for all your LOVELY emails and DMs on my birthday this week. It was SO appreciated and I was so touched by all the love I was feeling.

I had the absolute best birthday that included a party with dozens of my good friends at a fabulous spot where I had the opportunity to curate the menu and create three specialty cocktails for the occasion — and get to pretend I was a princess for a few hours.

I share a lot more on my Instagram - including some fun photos!

alywalansky

A post shared by @alywalansky

Here’s one photo from my Instagram stories that I grabbed because…it sure does do a great job of depicting how epic a night it was!

But seriously, thank you again - it was a special night (and day!), surrounded by incredibly special people.

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!

• Clean Plates: 12 Weight Loss Strategies That Are Easy To Follow, Say Experts

• Apartment Therapy: The “Very Yummy” Costco Holiday Treat That’s Flying Off Shelves

• Apartment Therapy: Aldi Just Brought Back the “Amazing” Holiday Treat That Sold Out Last Yea

• Food Network: Cheerios Sneaks Vegetables Into Our Breakfast

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This One Safety Device

• Forbes.com: Pantone’s 2024 Color Of The Year Is Resulting In Glorious Peach-Hued Cocktails

• Forbes.com: Perfect Cocktails And Desserts To Order On Your Birthday

• The Kitchn: Oprah Winfrey Reveals the One Food She Always Has in Her Fridge — And It’s So Much Stranger Than You’d Think

• Food Network: Perdue Launches Wings Made Specifically for Air Fryers

• RetailMeNot: Stores Open Christmas Day + Christmas Eve Store Hours 2023

• RetailMeNot: 50+ Government Employee Discounts Worth Knowing in 2024

• Southern Living: Can You Freeze Green Onions?

• The Kitchn: This Multifunctional Spoon Has Become a Mainstay in My Kitchen — And It’s Less than $20 on Amazon

• The Kitchn: Taylor Swift Keeps This Surprising (and Sentimental) Decor Item in Her Kitchen

• Forbes.com: Angelo Sosa’s Kembara Is A Love Letter To His Asian Travels

• Food Network: White Claw Is Going Dry

• Popsugar: How to Get Rid of Pesky Bad Breath, According to Dentists

• Yahoo: How to safely store leftovers

• Southern Living: Can You Freeze Cabbage?

• Southern Living: Can You Eat Underripe Avocado?

• Southern Living: How To Boil Potatoes

• Clean Plates: 10 Trader Joe’s Frozen Appetizers Perfect For Holiday Parties

• Food Network: Rao’s Is Getting In On Ketchup

• Food Network: Popeyes Officially Launches Wings As Permanent Menu Items

• Food Network: You Can Buy Just About Anything Inside an Olive Garden – Including Its Cheese Graters

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Gifts For The Meat Lover

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Gifts For The Sushi Lover

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2023: The Best Pink Kitchen Gifts For Barbie Lovers

• RetailMeNot: Where to Get Free Food Today (and Every Day of the Week)

• Travel & Leisure: I'm a Longtime Solo Traveler, and These Are The 12 Best Personal Safety Devices on Sale at Amazon

• Travel & Leisure: Travelers Are Using This Flight Attendant-approved Gadget to Get More Space on Planes — and It Only Costs $13

• Travel & Leisure: The Flight Attendant-approved Hack I Swear by for Getting Through the Airport Stress-free Is Just $10 Right Now

• Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by This $9 Trick for Keeping My Feet Comfortable While Sightseeing

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

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.

Forbes

I’m rounding up fun brunch cocktails for New Year’ s Day brunch — if you have any to pitch, they MUST exist on a restaurant or bar menu (either permanently or as a special for the holiday). Please pitch me drink name, description, quote about the cocktail (and don’t forget to give me a name of who is being quoted) and image of the cocktail with photo credit.

I have a handful of 2024 Valentine's Day Gift Guide assignments! For these below, please pitch me in the following format: Item name, description, where available online, price, and LINK to high res image. Items can only be considered if all these deliverables are touched on so please double check before emailing!

Best heart-shaped delivery food gifts - I’m thinking along the lines of stuff like heart-shaped pizzas, heart-shaped cakes and cookies, basically anything edible that's also heart-shaped and can be delivered by mail for Valentine's Day (I was once sent a ribeye cut into a heart!)

Best bougie culinary gifts for the Valentine that appreciates small luxuries -- Valentine's is all about getting a bit fancy, so these are sort of bougie food gifts for the fancy valentine. caviar gift sets, maybe lobster tails, truffles, things like that.

Best romantic kitchenware - Think stuff like a heart-shaped plate, ink or red pots/pans, perhaps rose or heart shaped glassware, cutesy things for the romantic that loves date night in the kitchen - and truly what says date night more than a heart shaped casserole dish and pretty pink cocktail glasses? Let those images guide you in your pitching!

RetailMeNot

For RetailMeNot, I’m updating my annual guide to affordable Valentine’s Day gifts. As I realize affordable means different things to different people, I think it’s important to define it in this context (I’m going to try to stick with under $100), and for this story, I am going to try to stick to major retailers: Think Amazon, Nordstrom, Walmart, Target, Macy's, Ulta. As it’s SUPER important to me to have a good range of unique, interesting items I also will be including a couple options from emerging, startup, and smaller retailers.

I’m also starting to give some guidance going into the new year by working on a story on The Best Meal-Stretching Ingredients + Recipes and I’m looking for chefs and RDs to weigh in for this one. This one's for everyone who wants to save money on food and also cook more in the new year. (So, ALL OF US!) I’m looking to feature a handful of superstar ingredients (and where to buy them + for how much) that help you either make a cheap bulk meal or stretch other meals, and for those sending commentary - I’m also eager to share a recipe that features said ingredient, so please send along a link if you are referencing one.

I’m updating my New Years store hours guide from last season. I’m looking to maintain the same format and the same stores, just needs to be updated for 2023. So: If you or your client was included in last year’s guide, I would so appreciate if you can drop me a quick note and confirm the open/closed/modified hours info is still the same - or if it’s not. Otherwise, I’ll be reaching out soon!

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.

Have a great day!

<3