Tuesday: Here's what *not* to do when inviting media to your event + I have sourcing opportunities for several stories!
GIANT faux pas alert!
Good morning!
I am sourcing today for a bunch of expert commentary — seeking input for upcoming stories from a makeup artist, an organization expert, RDs, chefs, food safety experts, and more (there seems to be the making of a knock knock joke somewhere in there…)…please scroll down to pending assignments section to see specific details regardling what I am looking for.
Related: Industry Insights: How To Submit Expert Commentary That Writers Will Want To Use In Their Stories
But aside from the daily life administration, what a story I have to share today!
Now, you know it’s very important to me to never use my Substack as a soapbox. I don’t think it’s my place to scold anyone. However, when something happens in the realm of media/PR relationships that lends itself to a larger teaching moment, it’s worth sharing — and everyone here learning from the experience.
(Note, I’m not going to name any names here, as far as the brand, the agency, or the people involved. It’s not my goal to hurt anyone or call anyone out, but help people be on a better path going forward.)
That way something good may come out of something that maybe at the time felt not-so-good. That’s why we’re all here, right?
Related: A Little Conversation About The Value Of Kindness In The Workplace
A few weeks ago, I received a save-the-date email invite regarding a major high-end luxury brand’s upcoming event. It was a pretty big-deal event and a restaurant group I was very excited about — one I’ve covered at length in various publications and also have long enjoyed on a personal level (and it’s an agency I’ve long had a good relationship with).
Related: Industry Insights: How to have stronger and more meaningful PR/media relationships
I immediately said yes to the save-the-date, answering within a minute of receiving the email.
(When you receive as many emails as I do in a day, nothing says love like that.)
Last week, I received the formal invitation as a follow-up to that save-the-date, inviting me and a guest to the party, whereupon I answered and officially RSVP’d - for me and a guest - also, within about a minute of receiving the email.
The publicist responded and excited acknowledged, saying she was delighted to have us.
So, yay, right?
Related: Industry Insights: Simple Ways To Be Kinder To Each Other
Fast forward to last night.
I received an email from the same publicist that while they would still love to have me, they could no longer accommodate my guest, due to being “almost at capacity” for the event.
Related: Industry Insights: It's so important to check the calendar before scheduling events.
I wrote back that this chain of events was truly mortifying as I (and everyone else getting this email) had already invited someone to attend with me and thus would have to…what…un-invite them? How rude and awkward! I told them that unfortunately, I could no longer attend the event.
Now, of course, there was a lot done wrong here and rather unprofessionally. Here’s where they could have avoided such a major faux pas and potentially harming what had previously been a really good PR/media relationship between me and this agency and the brand involved:
Invite less people. The space where this event was to be held is a rather large capacity event space. So, it can fit a good amount of people, and it’s an important event for a big well-known (iconic, one may say) brand. But clearly they invited more people than they should have — or had more people accept the invite than they anticipated — and then ended up running out of space. It’d have been better to start by inviting a smaller group of people, then based on those RSVPs, reach out to more people.
This invite clearly stipulated “you and a guest” in the invite. So, it was not a matter of asking to bring a guest…it was understood everyone in the invite was welcome to invite one. So there were two people bundled into every RSVP.
It would have been a better move to NOT invite people outright with a guest — and let them ask to bring one, or not. A lot of people probably would have wanted to, but others wouldn’t - and that would have managed the headcount — and also given them a more realistic idea of how many people were actually RSVP’d rather than assuming every 1 was actually a 2 when they could have been a 1 or a 2.
Also: Had I been invited as an individual and then told a plus one TBD pending space, that would have been completely different and completely understandable and I’d still be attending.
I ended up rescinding my RSVP for this event, as it would have been mortifying to invite someone to be my date and then tell them never mind, they were no longer invited (who does that?!). I imagine many, many other people who were in similar situations did the same…meaning this nearing capacity event is now probably losing head count fast and I imagine they’ll be circling back to some people soon enough telling them they can bring their guest after all (Hey, you’re uninvited. Just kidding! You are invited again!).
An important reminder: In a city such as NYC, there’s dozens of events each week, and we all get tons of invites over the course of each day.
As fun and exciting and delicious as your event may be (to you, or to us, as the case may be), people are going to choose the events to go to that are a fit for their coverage and interests, as well as their schedule. But it’s important to remember that a huge factor of events is not just the brand or the product, but the relationship. It’s a way to get a bit of “face time” and build a relationship, and get to know each other outside of the sometimes-transactional nature of stories and assignments and pitches and emails. A great event can do a lot to foster that relationship growth — but sadly, a badly orchestrated one can do the exact opposite.
Keep that in mind — professional relationships, and strengthening them, not damaging them — in your own event invites.
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!
Travel & Leisure: This Flight Attendant-approved Jumpsuit Is My Go-to Comfy Airplane Outfit — and It’s Only $27 Right Now
Forbes.com: Cocktails To Enjoy While Viewing The 2024 Emmy Awards
Today.com: 11 healthiest fast food breakfasts, according to dietitians
Forbes: 30 Great Dishes To Try In Honor Of National Cheeseburger Day
Apartment Therapy: The One Thing You Always Travel with That’s Actually Disgusting (And How to Keep It Clean)
Travel & Leisure: I Tried Amazon’s ‘Magical’ Sleep Mask on a Long-haul Flight — and Now It’s the Most Important Item in My Bag.
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Frequently, and This $18 Gadget Makes Me Feel Safer in Hotel Rooms
Today.com: The best drugstore eye creams to tackle wrinkles, dark circles and dryness, according to experts
Apartment Therapy: I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Messy Kitchen Junk Drawer — Here’s How She Fixed It
Yahoo Life: The best cooling fans of 2024, tested and reviewed
Travel & Leisure: These Arch Support Sandals Are the Only Shoes I Wear in the Summer — and They’re Only $47
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
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.
Apartment Therapy
My Mom's Method for Cleaning Makeup Brushes Isn't Makeup Artist Approved (But I Still Love It Anyway) - My brilliant mom taught me how to wash our makeup brushes in the washing machine and this is what I do/love, but know that it's probably not best for long term use (can cause wear and tear). I’d love to speak to a makeup artist about this technique (here’s a Tiktok of me doing it, for reference!) and and get their thoughts/suggestions on pros/cons/what I should be doing instead.
I Asked a Chef How to Best Organize My Fridge, and Here's What They Recommended - I would love to email with a chef and ask how to best organize my fridge (like a chef does and store food better/smarter to last). I’ll send a before photo/video so you have an idea of what I’m working with!
Clean Plates
Is fridgescaping for you? I'm working on a story on fridgescaping. I’m personally inspired by this angle about why it's good -- but if you read the TikTok comments, people say it's insane, wastes space, impossible if you have a big family, etc. So, to that end, I’m looking at covering the advantages and potential disadvantages, and maybe best practices -- so if full-scale fridgescaping isn't realistic for you, what are some elements you can incorporate? I’d love to speak to an organization expert for this one.
Fall TJ's products RDs love: For Clean Plates, I’m also doing a roundup of great fall products at Trader Joe's. But I’m also very into savory items (they have a gluten-free pumpkin ravioli I've been eyeing for instance...). Everyone is so into pumpkin spice and maple and such for fall - I’m rounding up picks at TJ’s hat RDs love that have the spirit of the season without being super high in sugar/calories. So, if you have an RD, have them email me a rundown of some of their favorite flavors of fall products at TJs and why they are great to try - and maybe even how to incorporate them into fall meal/menu planning in a household.
Southern Living
I’m working on a piece on — can you eat squash skin and looking for chefs/food safety/produce experts to weigh in. (When pitching expert commentary for this story, please keep in mind, there’s already a separate piece on eating pumpkin skin, so I can only include pumpkins as part of larger squash family.) Please email me before jumping the gun and sending commentary for this as I will have specific questions for your expert to address. Thanks!
Forbes
I’m putting out feelers for a potential piece with advice for how college students can cook/prepare food in their college dorms, and save money in the process? I’m going to have to figure in some restrictions that may exist, what is generally allowed/not allowed, and how to make the most of your resources to stay healthy/save money, and not rely on takeout/junk food/expensive meal plans to stay well fed. This may include how to get a dorm room prepped to cook/prep healthy well-balanced meals, as well as how to stock dorm fridge/freezer-- keeping in mind the common appliances you'll find in a dorm kitchen (and those you probably wouldn't). I'm looking for value, so think products that you can get at a good price and easily ship vs. fancy stuff a kid wouldn't need (so, no wagyu or caviar or lobster for this one), but also, commentary/ideas for what they will need, and what they will actually use. So, think, foods that will fill them up and keep them healthy and happy and will be easy to pull together to make meals they'll actually enjoy (tall order, I know!) Also, looking for dorm-friendly small appliances — with the understanding that dorms and dorm communal kitchens usually have certain restrictions in place.
I’m rounding up unique lobster dishes National Lobster Day. ANYTHING pitched for these stories MUST exist on the menu at a bar or restaurant. Please keep in mind the following parameters: Name of dish, name of restaurant (city, state, URL), description, quote about dish (and who to credit for the quote), and an image (with photo credit) — via dropbox link, not as an attachment. (Please make sure to have ALL these components before pitching.)
You may have recently seen my pieces about celebrity chef airline menu partnerships and everything from high tea to caviar service inflight. To that end, I’m also researching for a Fine Dining At 30,000 Feet roundup with the most luxurious dining options on different airlines. Please email me if you represent an airline and have something that may be a fit!
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!
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aly