Thursday: Substack now allows for DMs! Plus: There's still a few seats left for our upcoming AMA Mother’s Day Gift Guide Zoom Event!
Also: LAST DAY to take advantage of 50% off a monthly or annual paid subscription!
Good morning!
Lots to get done today as I’ll be traveling all next week (I’m headed to Phoenix and Scottsdale, where’ll get to spend the whole week with my lovely friends and work wives Jill Schildhouse and Alice Dubin!)
It’s a work trip, of course (do we really know any other kind?) but we have TONS of fun plans and you can count on lots of social media shares and updates here while we are there.
Also: Happy Leap Day!
We’re all looking to save money and stretch our budget anywhere we can, and this week for RetailMeNot, I wrote two stories related to spreading that grocery money: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work and Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It.
Oh, and related to RetailMeNot, I’m now writing a monthly Savings Stars column for them, with a focus of cooking/eating well on a budget. Check out my author page for the new series here - it’s where you’ll also find me sharing regular savings hacks (like today’s is how despite living solo, I’m all about family-sized and bulk packaging!). Next up will be a piece on how to save grocery cash by growing your own herbs at home - yes, even in a tiny apartment with no outdoor space (like me!). For what I’m looking for in that story, please scroll to the pending stories section below.
Also: It looks like we have a new Substack fun feature to try out!
Substack now allows for DMs - meaning if you need to reach me - perhaps with a question about some commentary I’ve shared here, how to RSVP for our upcoming Zoom event, or anything else…this is a way to instantly interact.
You can use this direct messaging, to have private one-on-one conversations with anyone you are connected to, and this feature can be accessed in the Chat tab on the app and website.
Will this be something to use for pitching? Nope…please stick to email for that, it’s the only way I can properly filter and organize your pitches and go back to them later - but I think this may be useful for other community needs!
We’re going to try this out for now for a bit and see how it goes…we’re all figuring this thing out together!
Register for our AMA Mother’s Day Gift Guide Zoom Event Now!
You may remember that during the most recent gift guide season, Alice Dubin and I teamed up for a AMA Zoom session covering all things Valentine’s gift guide pitching — and so much more. That AMA registration list reached capacity in just a few hours and ended up being great fun — and a packed house.
We teased at the time we’d want to do it again soon and now we are! We’re teaming up on March 13, 2024 at 11 am PT/2 pm ET via Zoom for our next AMA session (focused on pitching for Mother’s Day gift guides!) and we’d love to invite anyone who is a paid subscriber of either of our newsletters. While this session will focus on all aspects of gift guide pitching, you are also welcome to ask questions about anything else — the sky’s the limit!
Want to take part? Find the registration link under the paywall at the bottom of this email!
Gift guide season is almost upon us again - we hope we can help each other be as prepared as possible!
TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to take part of my February promotion of 50% off paid subscriptions. This is the biggest discount I’ve ever done and is good on either annual or monthly subscriptions — meaning that upgrading and getting the value of AMAs and industry insights emails and all the other subscriber benefits will now cost you roughly as much as a monthly cup of coffee, as my Valentine’s Day gift to you!
Check out my appearance last week week on the Behind The Media podcast, with my gal Juliana Martins. We chat about A BUNCH of stuff, such as how brands can stick out to editors in a saturated market, how I decide which events I will attend vs decline, what startups, new venues, or brands with minimal budgets can do to get media attention, PR/pitching do’s and don’ts and more…including our mutual celeb crush and some of our favorite places to eat and drink!
So honored to see Muck Rack included me in their 2024 list of top ten most popular freelance journalists. Check out the list 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.
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!
Forbes.com: The Pasta Queen’s Coveted Pasta Sauces Are Now A Grocery Jaunt Away
RetailMeNot: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work
RetailMeNot: Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It
Food Network: How to get a free doughnut if you were impacted by the cellular network outage
Forbes.com: Wonder Brings Celebrity Chef Cooking To Home Dining Rooms
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Is My Secret to Packing for a Week in a Single Carry-on Bag
Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane
RetailMeNot: 5 Superstar Ingredients for Your Meal-Stretching Pantry Starter Pack
Today.com: Say goodbye to wrinkles with these expert-approved drugstore creams — starting at $12
Clean Plates: The Healthy Trader Joe’s Sauce I Use in *Everything*
Martha Stewart: 8 Storage Mistakes That Are Keeping Your Home From Being Organized
Today.com: 27 healthy fast food items at popular US chains, according to dietitians and doctors
Clean Plates: 7 Mediterranean Diet Dinner Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less
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 working on a story about my preference for growing fresh herbs in my home rather than spending grocery budget on herbs at the grocery store (which can get pricey and also have a short shelf life). The caveat here is that this is a story geared not towards those who have gardens or outdoor space but those maintaining herb gardens within small apartment kitchens - I’m writing this essay format, so my own experiences, but open to items shoppable online at major retailers to help make a small apartment herb garden prosper.
I’m rounding up the Best Easter Sales that Shouldn't Be Missed for 2024. I’m open to sales that aren’t necessarily billed as "Easter Sales" – there are going to be a ton of spring sales going on, too. So, really anything that helps you get Easter Basket stuffers, clothes, table decor, spring decor or whatever else for Easter is fair game. I’m trying to include these specific retailers - Target, CVS, Walmart, Michaels, Macy's, Kohl's, Carter's, but I’m open to others as well. Please remember to include the following in your pitch: When Do Easter Sales Start?, timing of Easter sales (when they begin, when the last-minute deals start, etc.), what is included in the sales, how to claim the deals, and so forth.
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.
Forbes
Are any bars/restaurants planning a fun cocktail in order of Purim or St. Patrick’s Day? I’m working on roundups for both these holidays. If you have something, please email me with the name of the cocktail, a description (not a recipe), a quote from the bartender or chef, and an image. (And please remember to consult my nifty photo guidelines here.) Please pitch me by March 1 for this one.
March is National Sleep Awareness Month and World Sleep Day is March 17, so I’m rounding up cocktails that can help you sleep…perhaps specific sleepytime ingredients or flavors? If your bar/restaurant has a potential fit, please email me with same parameters as above.
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.