Thursday: My latest podcast appearance is live! + check out my coverage of all the hottest deals for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!
Good afternoon!
I’m so sorry for sending this later in the day than the norm, but this morning was a hectic one and totally got away from me…
In today’s news, I had the absolute JOY of appearing on my dear long-time friend Jamie Stone’s (we’re talking decades!) A Little Too Much podcast.
We recorded it last night (virtual happy hour style, my first informal Zoom happy hour in a while — and I forgot how fun they could be), and it’s live today - and we covered everything from Carrie and Aiden (of course) to how press trips and events have evolved over the years.
We also had probably had “a little too much!” fun, as you can see. That’s what happens when you get to hang out with a friend you don’t get to chat with very often.
I chat a lot in this newsletter about how I spent a long stretch of time isolating alone in my Brooklyn studio apartment for the length of lockdown.
I tried to cope with my feelings of loneliness and isolation in a few ways — one was cooking dinner each night live on my Instagram stories, so I never felt like I was eating alone.
The other was trying every few weeks to play virtual cruise director of sorts and try to gather my friends from around the country together for some sort of Zoom hang just so we could stay connected. Jamie was often an active participant in these Zooms, which included themes ranging from Friendsgiving pizza parties to scavenger hunts to trivia nights to even a martini night for my birthday in 2020 (in fact, that was the night the Dirty Aly concept was born!).
We at the time used phrases like “social distancing” a lot, but I think while physically distancing, there were a lot of people I felt socially closer to than ever.
In a related sense, I love doing podcasts because it also helps to build and maintain that connection. I have a few more recently recorded ones that should go live in the coming weeks (and if you want to hear others I’ve done recently that are already live, scroll down to the section below!) — I think that there’s nothing more important in our industry than relationship building, authenticity, and making true, meaningful connections — and doing stuff like that (as well as events and trips, of course!) are all a part being real people connecting and not just words on a page.
In other news, thanks SO MUCH to everyone who very much rose to the occasion and TOTALLY delivered in my last newsletter, when I said I had to turn around a piece on deals related to National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day within a few hours. You sent some great deals, and that story is now live.
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!
PS: I love doing podcasts!
Check out my guest appearance on Media Circus Podcast with Taiisha Bradley, as well as the Italian Wine Podcast recently, where we discussed all things Substack, and the Coffee N° 5 podcast, where we chatted about effective strategies for promoting emerging brands to journalists and securing media coverage. Other recent podcast appearances include the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast with the incredible (and super fun!) Lexie Smith, where we covered everything from press dinners and events and trips to, well, sippin’!
I’ve recorded a few others that should be live soon as well and I’m always open to doing more — email me at alywalansky@gmail.com.
The Kitchn: 10 Deals to Celebrate National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
Southern Living: Can You Safely Eat Sprouted Potatoes?
Food Network: Mustard Skittles Will Take You on a Confusing-Yet-Somehow-Makes-Perfect-Sense Flavor Journey
Forbes.com: 40 Delicious Ways To Celebrate National Oyster Day
Forbes.com: Fine Dining At Sea Gets An Upgrade With The Return Of Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma
The Kitchn: More than 10,000 Cases of This Popular Trader Joe’s Soup Are Being Recalled — Here’s What You Need to Know
The Kitchn: Joanna Gaines’ New Line of Internet-Famous Stanley Tumblers Just Hit Target, and It’s Already Flying Off the Shelves
The Kitchn: Costco’s Giant Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie Is Back and Flying Off Shelves
Taste of Home: Costco Sells Chicken Nuggets That Taste Exactly Like Chick-fil-A’s
Popsugar: What to Know About Bananas' Carb Content
Travel & Leisure: Mosquitoes Love Me, and This Is the Surprising Gadget I Swear by to Get Instant Bug Bite Relief
RetailMeNot: 65+ College Student Discounts
Forbes.com: 30 Cocktails To Enjoy When Celebrating National Tequila Day
Clean Plates: Is Cottage Cheese Healthy? We Asked The Experts
Clean Plates: The Best Trader Joe’s Items for Easy, Healthy Summer Entertaining
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
I’m getting started working to update my Labor Day Store Hours roundup piece from last year. Please check the link and if you were a chain mentioned, please email me and tell me if your hours for that day are the same or need to be modified from last year’s info. (And if you are another chain with Labor Day store hours info, please do send! Thanks!)
Forbes.com
National Potato Day is coming up — and I love potatoes! I’m looking for some unique and creative dishes on restaurant/bar menus involving potato as a central ingredient. To pitch for this piece, please include the following:
Name of dish, where served (name of restaurant/city/state)
description of dish
quote about dish + name of person being quoted/title
image of dish + any appropriate photo credits
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've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat!
If you are interested in setting anything up for your own team in the coming months, please email me and we'll get something on the books! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts. If you are a freelance publicist and want to join in with a few other freelance publicist friends and set something up, we can do that as well!
Have a great day!
Listening to you talk about Carrie Bradshaw, I remembered that you were the one who introduced me, nay -- absolutely INSISTED I watch SATC because I was like the women depicted therein. I think most women in NYC have been Carrie Bradshaw at one time or another, but watching season 1 at your insistance, I leapt off the couch and screamed when Charlotte said to Carrie, “Anal sex, that can’t be! I went to Smith College!”
A friend of mine had said those words VERBATIM at the Palm Court in the Plaza Hotel two years earlier. I was indeed, as you promised, at least one of the Carrie Bradshaws walking around town, though my shoes cost less than hers.
Today, I am not Carrie Bradshaw. I am more like the sophisticated and well-read Christian girl that Samantha Jones would have made fun of at a soirée, while Charlotte defended me, saying, “Stop! She is NOT a prude! She just really likes church.” I am busily trying to morph from Carrie Bradshaw to Southern humorist Julia Reed. I am literally writing a piece I think I will send to GARDEN & GUN in the hopes of getting it published there, and I just got a series of Southern sex-positive anti-fascist poems published in ARKANSAS REVIEW.
I don’t know how you clocked me and understood my universe all those years ago, but I believe you did.
Congratulations on all your successes.