Tuesday: Hitting the ground running with four V-Day gift guides in the works + more pending assignments!

Also: Want to see your questions answered in a future email? Please send them now!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2024!

I sent a few of these out over the holiday break, but I know that some people were taking a much-needed break.

So, for everyone else, there’s some info in today’s newsletter that may be a wee bit redundant to the last one, but I want to make sure everyone gets the information they need to proceed with pitching!

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Some news!

Every year, Muck Rack releases an annual list of the 10 most-viewed journalists of the year.

I’m so excited to share for the fourth year in a row, I made the list!

(Last year, I actually also topped their list of most popular food writers online, so I hope that happens again this year as well…crossing fingers!).

Back to work…

I have a bunch of pending assignments that I am sourcing for, including a handful of Valentine’s Day 2024 gift guides.

Reminder: Looking for best practices when pitching gift guides? Alice Dubin and I hosted a Valentine’s gift guide-centric AMA session recently and you can still catch the recording! Get all the deets here.

Send me your questions!

I want to take some time in the coming weeks to answer some of your questions right in my daily newsletter — this can be anything related to pitching, followups, events, mailers, trips….you name it. I’ll share the answers to your questions in a future Industry Insights edition (so while ANYONE can send a question…you’ll need to upgrade your subscription to read the answers…)

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: Caviar Is The Elegant Pizza Topping We Didn’t Know We Always Needed

• Clean Plates: 12 Weight Loss Strategies That Are Easy To Follow, Say Experts

• Clean Plates: 7 Mediterranean Diet Dinner Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less

• Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This One Safety Device

• Forbes.com: Pantone’s 2024 Color Of The Year Is Resulting In Glorious Peach-Hued Cocktails

• RetailMeNot: 50+ Government Employee Discounts Worth Knowing in 2024

• Travel & Leisure: I'm a Longtime Solo Traveler, and These Are The 12 Best Personal Safety Devices on Sale at Amazon

• Travel & Leisure: Travelers Are Using This Flight Attendant-approved Gadget to Get More Space on Planes — and It Only Costs $13

• Travel & Leisure: The Flight Attendant-approved Hack I Swear by for Getting Through the Airport Stress-free Is Just $10 Right Now

• Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by This $9 Trick for Keeping My Feet Comfortable While Sightseeing

• Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They've Upgraded Their Seat — and It's Only $35

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.

Forbes

I have a handful of 2024 Valentine's Day Gift Guide assignments! For these below, please pitch me in the following format: Item name, description, where available online, price, and LINK to high res image. Items can only be considered if all these deliverables are touched on so please double check before emailing!

Best heart-shaped delivery food gifts - I’m thinking along the lines of stuff like heart-shaped pizzas, heart-shaped cakes and cookies, basically anything edible that's also heart-shaped and can be delivered by mail for Valentine's Day (I was once sent a ribeye cut into a heart!)

Best bougie culinary gifts for the Valentine that appreciates small luxuries -- Valentine's is all about getting a bit fancy, so these are sort of bougie food gifts for the fancy valentine. caviar gift sets, maybe lobster tails, truffles, things like that.

Best romantic kitchenware - Think stuff like a heart-shaped plate, ink or red pots/pans, perhaps rose or heart shaped glassware, cutesy things for the romantic that loves date night in the kitchen - and truly what says date night more than a heart shaped casserole dish and pretty pink cocktail glasses? Let those images guide you in your pitching!

RetailMeNot

For RetailMeNot, I’m updating my annual guide to affordable Valentine’s Day gifts. As I realize affordable means different things to different people, I think it’s important to define it in this context (I’m going to try to stick with under $100), and for this story, I am going to try to stick to major retailers: Think Amazon, Nordstrom, Walmart, Target, Macy's, Ulta. As it’s SUPER important to me to have a good range of unique, interesting items I also will be including a couple options from emerging, startup, and smaller retailers.

I’m also starting to give some guidance going into the new year by working on a story on The Best Meal-Stretching Ingredients + Recipes and I’m looking for chefs and RDs to weigh in for this one. This one's for everyone who wants to save money on food and also cook more in the new year. (So, ALL OF US!) I’m looking to feature a handful of superstar ingredients (and where to buy them + for how much) that help you either make a cheap bulk meal or stretch other meals, and for those sending commentary - I’m also eager to share a recipe that features said ingredient, so please send along a link if you are referencing one.

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!

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