Thursday: An essential guide to samples. What are we doing with them once you send them, and why they are (sometimes) necessary (and often not!)
PS: Grab my Valentine's Day gift guide webinar recording now - for free! - as my gift to you!
Good morning!
Every single day, I’ll have hundreds of emails offering me samples to test for various pending and potential stories. Of those hundreds of emails, I’ll say yes to a very small percentage of samples…for a variety of reasons. A lot of it will come down to is it a potential fit for something I’m working on, and is a sample actually necessary for the type of content I’m writing (often not), but there’s a lot more at play, too.
There’ll always be those who see samples as “gifts” or “swag” or “freebies” — it’s none of that. For gift guides, a sample is about an in-depth period of testing (a road test of sorts) for verification, storytelling, and logistics.
Is the product real, functional, and gift-worthy? As a writer, I’m responsible to my readers. If I’m going to speak to a product’s values, I need to know those values to be true for myself. Holding, testing, or experiencing the product help to confirm quality, usability, size, packaging, and whether it truly fits the category I’m currently working on.
OK, it’s a great product. But is it a fit for my audience? My outlet? This specific story and angle? Sometimes it’s not very clear to the people in my inbox: A gift guide isn’t just “good products.” It’s good products for a specific reader, price point, season, or lifestyle. Seeing the product in person helps editors decide where (or if) it belongs.
Photography: Generally, I’ll use PR-provided photos for stories. But real-life testing is often necessary and in those, I’m going to use photography of that road test in my stories. You’ll see lots of photos of me testing out comfortable travel shoes or luggage or cookware in various outlets, for example.
There’s many reasons a gift guide, product roundup, or standalone one-off product review may necessitate original photography. And, as far as that road test element I mentioned earlier, it lends itself to consistency and credibility.
Write specifically, with a sense of authority — that’s my job, after all. No shade to Amazon or Walmart shopper reviews, but this ain’t that and if you think it is, this isn’t the newsletter for you. My content is going to go a lot further into a product than “it’s good” or “it’s soft” or “I liked it!” If it didn’t, they’d never hire me again. Samples allow us as writers to include details that elevate coverage—texture, weight, scent, fit, packaging, ease of use—rather than generic marketing language.
So, what do writers actually DO with their samples? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a casual gathering of fun new loot, I promise!
Here’s some of the stuff we may be doing:
Giving that product a real-life road test (sometimes briefly, sometimes over days or weeks)
Photograph it, especially if it’s necessary for the type of review we’re doing
Compare it side-by-side with similar items
Sure, samples are fun and sometimes exciting, but it’s also important to remember the sample is a working tool, not a perk.
That said, there’s plenty of times when a sample is not necessary — and that’s why well over 90% of times I’ll say no when it’s offered (which means, yes, if I say yes to you I’m serious about it!)
Some instances where you do not need to send samples: Digital, virtual, or subscription-based gift guides (trial access or demo logins is often just fine for evaluation), expert-curated or “editor’s picks” gift guides (these lists are driven by expertise, not hands-on testing), trend–style gift guides (the guide is about ideas, not really product testing) or last-minute or instant-delivery gift guides (timing makes shipping impractical).
When samples aren’t necessary, pitches are strongest when they include a clear explanation of how the gift works, pricing and availability, why it fits the guide’s theme, and good images.
Job Leads!
Have a job lead to share? I’m happy to share them, and this newsletter goes out for free daily to over 10,000 media professionals! Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you have anything to share.
GO PR is expanding and looking for the next rockstar to join the team as a Senior Account Exec (hospitality) in the NYC area.
Upcoming travel
I’ll be in Miami for SOBEWFF next month. If you’ll be there too, please let me know so I can say hi!
I’m also going to be in Charleston in early March for their Wine + Food festival. Keep in touch if you’ll be there, too!
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available going into Q1 2026!
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 more than 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
I partnered with Pitchcraft to be able to share a special offer just for my readers: Use code ALY200: new users will get $200 off their first month of the monthly PR Membership or code ALY400: This one offers new users $400 off their first year of the annual PR Membership. This is a great network to join because it’s a community of both PR professionals and journalists working together to find better ways to work together and share opportunities, and you know how much I believe in all of that
Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who you’ve seen as the star expert panelist for several of our gift guide pitching workshops!) - she 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.
Grab the Valentine’s Day gift guide pitching webinar best practices webinar — for free!
Now available is our brand-new just released Valentine’s Day gift guide pitching webinar recording — grab that one right here.
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!)
Southern Living: We Asked Southern Chefs For The Best Thing They Ate This Year—Here’s What They Said
Apartment Therapy: The 8 Biggest Decluttering Regrets That Haunt These Experts
Forbes.com: 17 Fiery Drinks And Dishes To Try In Honor Of Hot & Spicy Food Day
Travel & Leisure: Matching Sets Are My Secret to Staying Cozy on Long-haul Flights—Here Are 14 I’m Eyeing for Winter, From $27
Forbes.com: Cocktails And Dishes To Help You Après-Ski In Style
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler of 25 Years, and These Are the 18 Products I Swear By for Personal Safety in 2026
Travel & Leisure: This Gel Seat Cushion Makes Flights More Comfortable
Southern Living: The 3-Second Rule Is The Easiest Packing Method I’ve Ever Tried
Parade.com: How to Use an Air Fryer (Beginner’s Guide) - Parade
Apartment Therapy: My Packing Trick Helps Me Pack Perfectly Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
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.
Yahoo Creators
Rounding up some great wellness-oriented items to give your home a refresh as you enter the new year — this may include items that will help you have a more restful sleep, streamline your kitchen, get you organized, and more. I’m also looking for products/services to give yourself a refresh in 2026. This can be everything from meal kits and subscription boxes to wellness items and so forth.
I’m working on several Valentine’s Day gift guides: I’m looking for gifts for him, wellness gifts, gifts for her, pet gifts, food/spirits gifts, and more. 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, especially major ones like Amazon)
Link to image and any necessary credits
Description why it’s a fit
Item must be currently available and currently in stock. Be sure to start a new email thread and be clear in the subject line what specific gift guide(s) you are pitching. Just replying to this email is a great way to get your pitch buried in a heap - we don’t want that! And, yes, in answer to all the questions in my inbox: These are all earned media, and not sponsored, guides.
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
Forbes
I’m seeking Valentine’s Day themed dishes and drinks.
For all my cocktail/dish pieces, the format for pitching remains:
Name of cocktail
Where served, city, state, URL
LINK to image of the drink and photo credit
description (NOT a recipe) of drink, and quote about drink, with appropriate credit.
Quote about the dish from chef/bartender and please remember to include the name of the person being quoted and their title.
Thanks!
Have a great day, and thanks again for being such an incredible community
<3
aly