Thursday: Technology is in SOS Mode today, but I wrote about a free treat available tonight only to end the day on a sweet note.
Also: HAPPY NATIONAL MARGARITA DAY. Don't miss my guide to most creative margaritas around the country.
Good afternoon!
Happy first day of SOBEWFF to all attending this year! It’s my favorite event of the year and though sadly I am not in Miami this year to take part, I very much am in my heart, and I’m glued to everyone’s coverage!
I just finished attending my dear friend Alice Dubin’s brilliant webinar workshop on where to find open press opportunities in 2024, and was so excited to see so many of you were in the room as well!
Her workshop focused on the state of pitching platforms and the emerging options (and their pros and cons), and I honestly learned so much — I believe she’s going to be sharing the recording with her paid subscribers, so you may want to hop on over to her Substack and subscribe now so you can take advantage of all the actionable takeaways.
In other news, it’s been a busy but weird day on the interwebs as technology was thrown asunder by the national cellular outage that impacted scores of people across several major cellular networks (um, have I been binging too much Bones or does all that read rather nefarious?), but I did discover a silver lining to this weird day that I had to cover immediately: For Food Network, I wrote about how you get a free glazed doughnut tonight nationwide if you were impacted by the outage!
You know me. I’m always trying to find the little bit of sweetness even in the most bitter of times.
Today, I also completed an interview with a beloved celebrity of the pasta realm (you may say she’s a sort of pasta royalty, even) about some big news coming tomorrow - you’ll catch that on Forbes.com in the morning, so stay tuned!
This weekend, I wrote up a guide to the best ways to submit photos to media. If you’ve pitched a bunch of my drink/dish galleries and are wondering why your pitches aren’t the ones I end up using — while there’s several factors at play for why you may have not been included in that story, the right types of photos and how you submit them play a bigger role than you may realize. Check out my guide here.
There’s just a few days left to take advantage of my special February-only RPZL x Aly Valentine’s Day headband and bow collection before it closes to make room for the next fun collab. Grab your favorite headbands and bows now at 25% off with code ALY25 through February 29.
Speaking of the headbands, last night I went to dinner with everyone’s favorite science of food chef genius personality, Alton Brown - and I wore the Shari from my collection. (Pictured with us is my friend Shari, the namesake of the Shari, of course, wearing the Scarlet!)
Today is National Margarita Day!!! In celebration, I’ve rounded up a huge gallery of great margaritas to try. For Forbes.com: 40 Creative Cocktails To Enjoy On National Margarita Day.
In honor of it being the month of Cupid (as well as Galentine’s Day, as well!), I’m going to be offering 50% off paid subscriptions for the remainder of the month of February. 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 on this 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!
Food Network: How to get a free doughnut if you were impacted by the cellular network outage
Forbes.com: 40 Creative Cocktails To Enjoy On National Margarita Day
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
Southern Living: A Guide To Enjoying Leftover Salmon
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
Southern Living: Can You Freeze Brussels Sprouts?
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 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.
Have a great day!