Thursday: Sourcing commentary for a bunch of new assignments + check out my pizza roundtable video appearance!

Also: A 20% discounts on my virtual consulting/lunch & learn sessions!

Good morning!

A lot to cover today, including a BUNCH of pending assignments that I’m sourcing for (scroll down to see what I need and if you are a fit!).

Today, I wanted to take some time to share the below image I scrolled past on my Facebook newsfeed a few nights ago. It really resonated with me, and I think it might as well for many of you.

Being in our field presents a unique set of challenges. You may have outlets (or clients, depending on your gig and focus) go from assigning you 8 stories (or projects, as the case may be!) at a time to ghosting you completely in the blink of an eye. You can in the space of 24 hours have one client gush over your work and someone else rip it to threads. You may have people in your life who have no idea what you actually do for a living or even believe that you have a job at all (at least enough to take it seriously). And, any freelance writer will tell you, we get FAR more rejections or non-responses than we get assignments.

Considering all this, even after decades in the industry, you can have serious bouts of imposter syndrome and self doubt.  This is more true than ever in our current industry climate.

I'm constantly doubting myself. Am I good enough? Do people really like me? Do I still fit in? It never fully goes away and those ugly voices in your head are always there when you least need to hear them. And I know other people reading this are feeling the same way right now. Because you tell me. I see your emails, I see your social media comments. We’ve discussed it.

This is all to say, I think that making and keeping connections are an essential way of not feeling out of touch or lost.  This is true both in a personal relationship way, and in an industry sense. It means so much to me at those times I’m going through things and people reach out. And, I hope, I’ve successfully done the same for you when you were in those trying times.

I know I chat about this a lot here, but the reason I am so dedicated to helping making media events and dinners and trips the best they can be, aside from, of course, the editorial value and them simply being FUN (fun is important too, you know), is the incredible importance of human connection.

So, keep doing the incredible job you are doing, and keep making those connections. They matter, you matter, we all matter (even if sometimes it’s easy to forget that!).

Anyone remember during Passover when I mused about recording a Youtube interview about pizza while pizza could not be had? It was actually silly and hilarious and we chatted a lot about media and events and the industry…and, well, pizza. Pizza, too. Check it out!

In upcoming travel news, I’ll be in Martha’s Vineyard next week for Martha’s Vineyard Food & Wine Festival (and for a few days before, too).

Coming up later in the month, I’ll be in Baton Rouge for a few days, and I just confirmed a Temecula trip for mid-September.

If you’ll be in any of these spots too while I’m there, drop me an email!

In related news, I’m obsessed with the RPZL x Grey Bandit collab launching next week (there’s even seashell extensions!) - the bag is right now in my luggage being used to hold my makeup and toiletries. So cute!

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This week I’m wrapping up one final Father’s Day gift guide as well as my guide to martinis for National Martini Day. Scroll to the pending assignments section below to see what I’m looking for as far as pitches for these and other assignments, too!

Grab the Dads and Grads Gift Guide Pitching Webinar Recording Now!

Thanks to all who attended our Dads and Grads Gift Guide Pitching Workshop last week. We had a full house and an hour packed with really great questions and conversation — and now the full recording is available to any subscriber who may have missed it (or wants to go back and give another listen.) You can check out how to grab that recording and what we covered right here.

On occasion, people reach out to me for help with planning press dinners and events - from choosing the perfect location to keeping things fun and interesting to how to get top journalists to want to attend. If you are interested in me doing this for you, email me any time at alywalansky@gmail.com.

This newsletter goes out to well over 8,000 engaged publicists, business owners, and journalists each and every day. If you are looking to sponsor a daily installment of this newsletter or have a dedicated section about your client or product (assuming it’s an organic fit for the interests of my audience!), that is now available. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com to discuss.

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 pitching to followups to events or press trips or 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!

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

• Clean Plates: 7 Grocery Store Shortcuts for Fast, Easy Lunches

• Forbes.com: 20 Delicious Ways To Celebrate National Burger Day

• Forbes.com: The Italian Wedding Cake Martini Is A Dessert Cocktail Perfect For A Celebration

• Southern Living: The 9 Best Brown Sugar Substitutes That Will Be Just As Sweet

• Forbes.com: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Culinary Traveler

• Forbes.com: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Dad Who Wants To Be Bobby Flay

• Forbes.com: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Sandwich Lover

• RetailMeNot: Father’s Day Gifts for Every Type of Dad

• Clean Plates, 11 Mediterranean Diet Foods You Can Get at Trader Joe’s

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

• RetailMeNot: How to Save on Food Delivery Apps: 10 Tips That Actually Work

• RetailMeNot: How Growing My Own Herbs At Home Has Helped Me Keep Meals Creative Without Busting My Budget

• Clean Plates: How to Clean and Organize Your Fridge for Spring

• RetailMeNot: Savings Star Origin Story: How I Learned to Eat Well (In NY!) On a Shoestring Budget

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.

Clean Plates

I’m working on a roundup of the best seafood choices at Trader Joe's for when you want to lighten up this summer (or just plan an easy no-fuss seafood or surf and turf night). There’s so many great new items in the seafood category there, and I’d love some RDs and nutritionists to weigh in on their faves as well. Please email me!

RetailMeNot

Budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter: As you all know, I write a lot of content for RMN related to budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter. I’m going to be working on a monthly column on the subject of cooking/eating well on a budget, and I’d love you to pitch me products/ideas to consider for it - maybe a new meal-stretching product that is a good deal at a grocery store, an awesome product to try that may cut my meal prep time in half, other themes as far as saving money on food/cooking/eating and doing it in a way that is smarter.

The next column in this series will focus on bulk buying groceries and household essentials, which is something I personally SUPER believe in. I am constantly buying in bulk to save on per unit cost and benefit from the best deals. I even buy family packs of meat and fish to portion and freeze. I’d love some expert commentary on why bulk buying (rather at the supermarket on sales or at warehouse stores), is a great way to maintain a household meal plan and also live within our food budget.

Saatva

I’m working on a piece on blackout curtains and if they are really worth adding to your bedroom - I’m looking to interview a sleep expert for this one! (Caveat: They can’t work for a competitor's mattress brand.) There’s all sorts of items can get for your bedroom to improve your sleep, and blackout curtains is one of them. But do they really work? I’m looking to explore everything you need to know about the benefits of blackout curtains, how to choose them, and how they work. Please email me if you have someone who can give commentary, I have specific questions to ask for this one!

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!

Forbes

For Forbes, I’m working one final Father’s Day gift guide. Here’s what I’m working on and how to pitch me. Please pay attention to ALL these details before pitching to save us both time (and if you want some tips on how to best pitch for Father’s Day gift guides, be sure to check out the webinar I linked to above!)

The Best Gifts For The Traditionalist Foodie: Maybe he loves steaks from Texas or bagels and lox from NYC. He appreciates the classics and knows where to find them and how to best enjoy them.

To pitch for these gift guides, please include:

• name of product

• a few sentences describing the product so I know if I want to learn more

• a LINK to an image (and any necessary photo credits)

• a link to a major retailer where available (it must be currently in stock and not a presale link or out of stock or discontinued…people need to be able to click and buy it right now.)

Looking forward, my favorite culinary food holiday is soon upon us - that’d be National Martini Day! If you have a fun or unique martini going on, tell me more about it (and i’m of course also open to dishes inspired by martinis for this one!). I need name of drink, where served, a description, a quote about it, and an image of the cocktail. These cocktails MUST exist on a bar or restaurant menu in order to be considered.

These stories will BOTH be wrapped up by EOW.

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...

Whether you need 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, followups, mailers 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.

<3

aly