Thursday: A reminder that when pitching for gift guides, less is not always more.
PS: Don't miss out: The completely FREE recording of last month's Zoom webinar event covering pitching, trends, and all things holiday gift guide season is now available -- grab the link right here!
Good morning!
It’s the first full day of NYCWFF and there’s a whole lot going on in New York City.
But before I embark on my day, I’m going through yesterday’s emails (an appointment, a meeting, an event, and a dinner in one day will do that to you!), and I among my sea of gift guide pitches, I came across this one:
(Redacting all identifying information because I have no desire to shame anyone, ever.)
Hi Aly,
For all those people who are jet-setting every chance they get, try the affordable Christmas present —the X (name of product was here, but I won’t share it for aforementioned reasons.)
Would you like to receive a sample to consider featuring in your holiday gift guide?
The problem here is…they told me absolutely nothing about what this product is outside of its name (which itself was not descriptive at all of what the product was).
It did not in any way include what it does, how it works, what it costs, or a link to where it’s sold. There wasn’t even a product information link or an image. No links whatsoever.
I read this email and have honest-to-God no idea what this product is, and didn’t until I copied and pasted the name of it into my browser and Googled it.
Don’t do that. Especially during a hectic holiday gift guide season when we’re getting 1,000 emails a day that DO take those important steps.
I’m all for a short and concise pitch. I encourage in fact in consulting sessions all the time that people use the inverted news pyramid approach whenever possible and get as much of the juice of the pitch in the first paragraph as they can.
But this pitch had no juice anywhere. It was an empty glass, and, to be honest, I was left rather thirsty.
Check out our complete holiday gift guide pitching recording - it’s available right here, right now!
For those who missed out, you can grab the whole recording of our best practices for pitching holiday gift guides this season webinar for free (yes, completely free!) as a benefit for upgraded subscribers - it’s well over an hour of commentary, Q&A, and tons of information you can use this season. Grab the details here.
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available for October and November!
I can join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and do a team Q&A and answer any of your questions about planning events, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up :)
We can switch it up in any way you or your team needs. While most of my calls do end up being virtual, I just did one where we did our session over a martini lunch! I’m available for whatever your team prefers. Lets chat.
I’m now contributing to the Yahoo Creators platform, writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!)
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this Substack, which goes out to nearly 10,000 media professionals every single day.
Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!
Tools of the trade
Press Hook is where journalists, newsletter writers, and podcasters source expert quotes, hi-res images, product samples, affiliate info, and brand story angles — all from vetted brands in one searchable hub. It connects journalists and brands in what feels like a really user-friendly, organic way and I use it often to browse for sources and products aligned with my current projects and I’ve often found precisely what I need, when I need. Give it a try!
Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who recently was a star expert panelist for our big holiday gift guide pitching workshop!) - she just launched her new course, Affiliate Marketing & Performance-Based PR for Publicists - It’s built specifically to help PR pros and agencies add affiliate management as a core capability, something we all know is completely essential in today’s media landscape. This is in-depth training that equips publicists with the exact strategies to:
Set up affiliate programs for clients
Pitch commerce editors with confidence
Deliver measurable ROI through performance-based PR
It’s a must-have for anyone trying to navigate this ever-changing biz!
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.
Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler, and I Tell All My Friends to Pack These Anti-theft Essentials—Up to 56% Off at Amazon
Forbes.com: 8 Delicious Ways To Enjoy Salmon
Forbes.com: 13 Dishes And Drinks That Support Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Forbes.com: 15 Delicious Dishes To Savor On National Pasta Day
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device
Travel & Leisure: This $8 Flight Attendant-loved Hack Helps Me Carry More Bags at the Airport—Without Paying Extra
Forbes.com: 6 Delicious Ways To Celebrate National Gumbo Day
Food Network: You Can Pre-Order Your Entire Thanksgiving Feast
Clean Plates: The Best Plant-Based Meats for the Grill, According to Vegans
Today.com: Best drugstore wrinkle creams 2025, according to experts
Today.com: What Are The Best Drugstore Eye Creams? Experts and Editors Reveal Their Favorites
Southern Living: The Best And Worst Times To Go To The Grocery Store
Southern Living: How To Cook A Perfect Steak Every Time, According To Southern Chefs.
Travel & Leisure: 15 Amazon Business Casual Clothes for Summer Travel.
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by These Packable Ballet Flats for Comfort, Support, and Long Days on My Feet
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.
Apartment Therapy
I’m working on a story on maintaining a packing audit/checklist before/after trips and would love any experts to weigh in on the best way to do this and its benefits.
Southern Living
Sourcing for 2 pieces:
I’d love southern chefs (that are chefs working in the south or from the south) to weigh in on their own favorite Thanksgiving dessert and why - feel free to be nostalgic here and it’s OK to choose something obvious — or send me something left field.
What Thanksgiving dishes are OK to cheat on a bit? I’d love southern chefs to weigh in — what dishes do they ‘cheat’ on or advise we ‘cheat’ on? Are there certain dishes they outsource or take short-cuts on? Advice to us non-chefs on how to do so as well?
Yahoo Creators
You all already know I do a ton of going to restaurants and trying foods and cocktails for various stories for various outlets, but for this specific outlet, I do a lot of “I tried this” type food-delivery type pieces on new menu items, food product releases, and meal prep ideas or family meal type deals. If you have any that you want me to consider, let me know!
Also: I’m beginning to source for a variety of holiday gift guides for this outlet.
While I don’t have specific categories and subtopics completely ironed out yet, I’m currently interested in receiving gift guide pitches in the following categories: Travel-related gifts, gifts for your man, home/kitchen related gifts, tech gear/gadgets, office-related gifts.
To pitch me for these guides, please be sure to include the following:
Name of item
Links to major retailers where sold (it’s in your best interest to include several retailer link options when pitching)
Link to image and any necessary credits
Description why it’s a fit
Item must be currently available and currently in stock (and if you want any guidance on how to pitch for gift guides more successfully, be sure to check out the webinar recording linked above — it’s free!)
Forbes
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
FYI: Forbes gift guide topics and pitching instructions coming by later this week!
I’m sourcing for Halloween-inspired cocktails. For these, I’m looking for interesting and inventive dishes on menus at restaurants/bars nationwide.
Name of dish/cocktail
Restaurant, city, state, website
Description of dish
Quote from chef about dish/cocktail (plus name and title of person quoted)
Image and photo credit (I prefer links to attachments and remember to follow my instructions on the best way to submit photos and how to label your file names, thanks!)
I’m also working on a story on enjoying lower ABV cocktails in December. I know a ton of people (not me, obviously) are doing Sober October, as a way of having a total body reset before the active holiday event season, but another option is to try to moderate a little in December by focusing on lower ABV versions of your favorite drinks, made with low or mid-ABV spirits. So if you work with low-ABV spirits that have low-proof (vs. zero proof) holiday cocktails on the menu at bars/restaurants, please drop me a line! (Same pitching format as usual.)
Additionally, World Vegan Day is coming up and I’m looking for restaurants/bars around the nation that serve dishes you’d never believe are vegan are are unique and delish. Obviously, not talking about a spinach wrap here. This is stuff that would look like a cheese lovers’ or carnivore’s dream…but just happens to be completely vegan! Same pitching parameters as always, please :)
Finally, it’s National Pizza Month and I’m seeking fun variations on this classic dish. If you have a really fun pizza, please let me know. Same pitching parameters as above!
have a great day <3
aly