Thursday: The right and wrong way to follow up + sweet job leads + and a BOGO subscription upgrade offer!
Plus: Final days to pitch me your sleep trackers! More info within.
Good morning!
I have a few newly published stories today to share today and a lot of new content I’m working on (scroll down to the designated sections below for more on both of those!) — but since it’s a question that comes up A LOT in my consulting calls and AMAs, I thought we could chat for a minute about the art of properly following up.
I get it. You wrote this pitch that you thought was a TOTAL winner. You considered my advice about the strong lede, the inverted pyramid style of delivering information, included all the relevant background and information.
But...then nothing happens. You've hit a brick wall. Or at least it feels that way.
Ultimately, that initial pitch is the hello. The wave. The hi, how you doing? of it all. It's an important part of the whole picture, but it's not the whole picture. Chances are there'll be more emails involved.
But when this happens, there's a whole lot not to do. You're not going to wait three hours and send a text (or worse, a phone call) asking if they had seen your pitch. (And you aren't going to preface it with -- I know you hate phone calls, BUT...and then do so...because that is letting them know you know their boundaries and just think those boundaries do not apply to you.) What you are going to do is create an open channel of communication and do so in the same method you did from the beginning.
1. Wait a decent amount of time. Now, this will depend on the news and how timely it is. But don't be stalking anyone on all their various means of contacting them if you just sent that pitch 3 hours ago. Give things time to work themselves out. Even if that writer LOVES your pitch, chances are they have to then pitch their editor and wait to hear back. And that often takes some time.
2. Remember your email is not the only game in town. Yes, that pitch is something you spent hours or days working on. But they got 1,000 just like it that day.
3. Play hard to get. We can ALL tell when someone is desperate and it doesn't make them -- or whatever they are shilling -- more appealing.
4. Limit your number of followups. I think two are fully acceptable (so three emails, counting the primary first pitch). But if you are emailing every single day for a month "just checking back here??"...that's a bit much.
5. I won't lie. Writers are humans. If you annoy us, your over-aggressive followups can have negative consequences. We'll simply be less eager to work with you. It makes you look unprofessional but also it comes off kind of spammy.
6. Consider the content of your followup - It should very much be a "BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE" -- give them something more about the content of the original pitch. Perhaps share a relevant study, or something currently in the news that reflects a trend you were discussing. Maybe there's a relevant sale going on now, or a limited edition flavor or variety or color or packaging. Maybe the Duchess of Sussex was just seen eating it while walking her dog. Bring more to the table.
7. No means no. If someone says something is not a fit, or they can't attend your event, don't keep on asking hoping to change the answer.
8. Know what is NOT an appropriate followup - We get tons of "saw your story published, any way you can squeeze us in?" type emails. Those aren't followups. And they are not appropriate. Same for "saw you were working on a story on (whatever) last month. Would love to be considered. If a story was mentioned a month ago and I'm no longer mentioning it...it's been written, published and I don't even remember it exists.
9. Consider the long game. Maybe we can't use your client. TODAY. This time. But we could next week or next month if an opportunity arises -- but not if things go awry now.
10. Consider having different followups for different people. I imagine you are writing a lot of followups at once. Have one for people who never opened your email, one for someone who did but didn't respond and another for anyone who clicked links in there (and we all know email tracking is a thing, there's no secret there!), each will be a unique sort of follow up and deserves a unique response.
Here's an example of what would be a strong follow-up to a pitch:
Hi, Aly!
I'm writing up to follow up on my email from (insert day of the week or date) regarding (product, destination, expert). A reminder that they - (why it's a good thing to write about - is it timely? is it a trending topic/item? - is it relevant to something i said I'm working on?). Here's some things I wanted to share: (stats, data, links to research, news since the last email, etc) - hope to hear from you!
Something like that is going to give someone all they need to know. Then they can decide how to take it from there!
I’m offering a BOGO deal on new paid subscriptions!
As I mentioned recently, it’s tumultuous times all around. And we’re all feeling it pretty deeply.
If you show me some love (and this community some love!) by upgrading your free subscription to a paid one right now (either monthly OR annual), I have a gift for you: you can choose any friend or colleague to get the same upgrade — free.
How do you claim? Just upgrade your subscription (or upgrade a group) at the links below and email me at alywalansky@gmail.com — then give me the name and email address of a person you wish to upgrade. Buy an annual, give a free annual. Buy a monthly, get a free monthly.
Just my way of supporting the community and sharing the love whenever we can.
We all could use it.
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 planning an event, media dinner, or press trip to mailers, pitching best practices, followups to…well… anything else…drop me an email at alywalansky@gmail.com and lets chat!
Job Leads
Talk about dream job opps:
Public Relations Specialist, Luxury & Lifestyle AMER - IHG Career Careers *must be based in South Florida
The Brooks Group is a hiring Publicist and Senior Publicist to work with celebrity chefs and restaurants across the country.
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: Erewhon’s Newest Smoothie Is an Energy Drink
RetailMeNot: Why Costco Is the Ultimate Place to Shop (And Save) on Spices
Food Network: Hungry for the Paris Olympics? Here’s How Some of Your Favorite Chains Are Celebrating
Forbes.com: 20 Delicious Ways To Honor National Oyster Day
Southern Living: How To Store Cut Cantaloupe So It Stays Fresh And Delicious Longer
Saatva: The Best Nighttime Dental Routine for a Healthy Smile
Apartment Therapy: I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Cluttered Medicine Cabinet, and Here’s How She Fixed It
Travel & Leisure: You Don't Want to Step Foot in a Waterpark Without These 18 Essentials From Just $9
Food Network: You Can Now Get IHOP’s Famous Syrups by the Bottle
Forbes: 20 Cocktails That Will Win At Any Olympics Games Viewing Party
Yahoo Life: What is a siesta? The history of the afternoon nap and its benefits
Apartment Therapy: We Asked 8 Pro Travelers What They Never Pack in Their Carry-On and Here’s What They Said
Plate: Vinyl Record Bars Are Taking Over and We’re Not Mad About It.
Southern Living: This Free Packing Spreadsheet Is Going Viral — Here's Why
RetailMeNot: How Bulk Buying Helps Me Maintain My Household Grocery Budget – and Stay Well-Stocked
Travel & Leisure: This Genius Gadget Is the Travel Accessory Everyone's Wearing to Stay Cool in the Heat — and It's 20% Of
Apartment Therapy: We Asked 6 Travel Writers for Their Best Packing Hacks, and Their Tips Are Ingenious.
Travel & Leisure: I Always Wear These Comfy, Wide-leg Amazon Pants on Flights — Plus, 13 More Pairs I'm Eyeing From $12
Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $35
Apartment Therapy, I’m a Travel Writer and This Is My Time-Saving Packing Hack
RetailMeNot: Don’t Spend a Fortune at Those Salad Places: How I Build My Own Salads At Home
Travel + Leisure: The One Safety Item You're Likely Forgetting to Pack, According to a Longtime Solo Female Traveler
RetailMeNot: How Using My Air Fryer Makes Cooking on a Small Budget (and In a Small Space) Possible
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.
Newsweek Readers' Choice Awards
I’m participating once again in the panel of experts for the Newsweek Readers' Choice Awards (you may recall I recently participated in nominations in the best gourmet subscription box category and best outdoor grill. As part of this program, I’m part of panel of travel/food experts who helped to create nominee lists for the Readers Choice Awards in a variety of categories, and my next categories will be packing cubes and sheets. If you have any you think should be on my radar, drop me a line!
Clean Plates
For Clean Plates, I’m working on a piece on smarter grocery shopping and why you should be adding ceylon cinnamon to your cart. I’m looking for a RD to chat with over email, as to how/why Ceylon is better than cassia, along with some other health/wellness benefits, and we can chat, nutritionally, about savory as well as sweet applications, too.
Forbes
I’m rounding up dishes for National Potato Day. These must exist on a menu at a bar or restaurant, even if only for a limited-time special. Please send - name of dish, description (No recipe is necessary!), quote about the dish + person being quoted, and a high res image of the dish - this is being wrapped up this Friday am!
Soon, I’ll be rounding up creative/interesting avocado-centric dishes (or drinks!), so start thinking on those if you have anything that may be a fit!
Note: ANYTHING pitched for these stories MUST exist on the menu at a bar or restaurant (I got about a dozen pitches for both in the last 24 hours that seemed to miss that part.)
Southern Living
Working on two ingredient/food safety type stories — how do you tell if steak has gone bad? and can you freeze feta cheese?. Would love chefs, food safety experts, etc to weigh in over email!
Yahoo! Health
Best sleep trackers: I’m rounding of the best sleep trackers of 2024. (NOTE: I NOW HAVE ALL THE SLEEP EXPERT COMMENTARY I NEED FOR THIS STORY.) - However, I am still open to sleep trackers to test in various categories such as sleep tracking ring, wristband, 2-in-1 fitness and sleep tracker, contactless, app, and more - I’m looking for most accurate, most comfortable, best value, best for tracking sleep stages, best for sleep coaching…etc.
Saatva
For Saatva, I’m working on a story on nap pods. And, I actually DO need sleep experts/sleep coaches or THIS one. This story is going to focus on how afternoon naps can help you power through the day - so enter nap pods. These are currently being offered at spots such as schools, offices, and airports to make napping easier, and I’d love to have everyone know everything about them, what a nap pod is, how they work and what special features they might have, a few benefits of using a nap pod to get in some extra sleep, who might benefit most from using a nap pod. I have a lot of specific questions - so if you have an expert who can give some commentary, please email me!
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!
I’m also seeking pitches along the theme of embracing imperfection. We all have discovered that we can learn rather than hide, from mistakes, and hopefully grow from it —so I’m looking for food/restaurant pitches along these lines - unexpected substitutions that worked better than the original plan—be it a space, a dish, a city, or a team member. Maybe “ugly” dishes or last-minute modifications in a pinch that made all the difference. Basically how restaurants and chefs are using imperfect solutions to make magic happen.
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!)
<3
aly