Tuesday: Huge sale on consulting sessions. Plus: What is the best time of day to hold an event? And: First new pending assignments of 2025!
Also: There's still time to RSVP for our upcoming Zoom webinar!
Good morning!
A reminder: There’s still some space in our upcoming Zoom webinar event, which will cover everything you need to know about the upcoming ShareASale to Awin upgrade, and choosing the best affiliate network for your client-specific needs. Check out the info on when it is and how to RSVP here.
As the year is starting out and so many people have so many questions about everything from pitching to events and trips and followups and in-between I’m announcing a special limited-time offer as a way of sharing my decades of experience (yup, i’m old, very old!) in our industry. Right now, anyone who upgrades to a paid annual subscription will get 30% off a virtual consulting session for them and their team if they reach out and lock in a date now. If you upgrade to a group (that’s 4 or more seats) or agency-wide paid annual subscription today, I’ll schedule a free virtual consulting session for your team! Just my small way of giving back to the community any way I can.
Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com any time and we’ll discuss the specifics!
Recently, there’s been some discussion on social media about the best time of day to hold a press event. Is it morning/breakfast? Mid-morning? Lunchtime? mid-afternoon? Late afternoon? Early evening?
This is also a topic that comes up in AMAs and consulting sessions a lot, and I’ll preempt this answer by saying - it’s one that may be different for different writers with different schedules and circumstances.
But, speaking for myself, and my needs — and I say this as someone who gets dozens of event invites each week and only attends 2 or 3 a week (and yes, while the transportation issue is paramount, schedule is also of huge importance) - the vast majority of the time I will only say yes to an event in the late afternoon or evening.
Yes, exceptions exist (I actually just made an exception for an event next week, but for very specific reasons and circumstances related to pending content), but the reality is this: Part of how I’ve become some established in my own little niche of our industry is that I am reliably at my desk during specific hours each day. For this reason, I have a lot of quick-turnaround assignments (as in, pitch, assign, write, and publish all in the same day). These tend to be time-sensitive trending news stories and if I’m not available to write them…someone else will. Work lost. Income lost. The average daytime press lunch requires an hour travel time each way (at least for me) and a 2+ hour time commitment once there. That’s half a day of lost productivity, work time, and income. It’s just not feasible or sustainable. Even for those of us who do not work on such short leads, losing half a work day to attend an event is just not something we can do and stay on top of our work and what we need to do…so we rarely can, and when we do, know it’s a very special exception.
That said: I love events that are later in the day. One day next week I have a late afternoon hair event at a salon followed by a dinner event. (Yes, I do say yes to several events in one night from time to time - helps mitigate that distance issue as well.) But going to an event after the work day, especially if industry friends are involved, feels like a reward for a hard day’s work rather than something we are sacrificing work for - meaning we can be present and engage and truly absorb the experience rather than being glued to our work email and clock the whole time.
Trust me, it makes a huge difference.
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!).
Thanks so, so much. In a world where being a freelancer can often be isolating and demoralizing, being recognized means all the world to me.
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!)
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!
Newsweek Readers Choice: Best Apres Ski Spots, Best Casinos with Live Music (outside Vegas), Best U.S. Wellness Resort, Best Packing Cube, Best Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!
Travel & Leisure: A Travel Writer's $10 Amazon Packing Hack for Shoes
Martha Stewart: 19 Walk-In Pantry Ideas for a More Organized, Stylish Space
Forbes.com: Chef Nobu Matsuhisa Brings Gold Standard Sushi To This Year’s Golden Globe Awards
Forbes.com: 8 Hot Toddy Variations To Try Just In Time For The Winter Chill
Food Network: Starbucks Finally Adds Cortados to Its Menu
Southern Living: Can You Eat Wilted Cilantro?
Today.com: Do drugstore wrinkle creams really work? Experts weigh in
Martha Stewart: 18 Coffee Table Décor Ideas That Blend Form and Function.
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Often, and I Won’t Stay in Another Airbnb Without Packing This 1 Safety Device
The Spruce: How to Add Storage to Your Kitchen Walls and Make the Most of the Vertical Space
Southern Living: The 9 Best Bottles Of Bourbon, According To Southern Chefs And Bartenders
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.
Southern Living
Working on a story on How Playing "Check-in Chicken" Is A Hack To Get The Best Seats On Flights - would love travel experts and pro travelers to answer a few questions over email!
Apartment Therapy
Here’s a fun one: I’m asking Experts in the Adult Industry for the Best Way to Store Sex Toys: I’d love to speak to experts in the adult industry (performers, toy experts, etc.) and find out the best way to store sex toys and keep them organized as well as any tips on where not to store them because of any issues (cleanliness, etc.)
Forbes
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it, and I’m looking for romantic cocktails available at bars and restaurants.
Also, I’ve done a lot of caviar dish roundups before, but now I’m working on one that is specifically caviar-centric cocktails…have any, email me!
For either of these, I want to see the following in pitches:
The name of the cocktail
where it’s available
description (not a recipe)
a quote about the cocktail
an image (linked via dropbox, not attached please) with appropriate photo credit.
Please don’t pitch until or unless you have all that available. thanks!
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 taking style-related pitches, obviously with the audience in mind: such as the the stories behind chefs who take their style seriously, but also various cooking styles, and how does style play a role, how does plating style affect how a dish tastes and sells? What does it mean to go from one cooking style to another in the course of a career, or operate restaurants that showcase various cooking styles?
Also taking After Dark-related pitches, as in everything that happens after dark—from late-night industry happy hours to night markets, such as the labor and techniques that take place in the kitchen (or parking lot) overnight—from BBQ to sous vide cooking and baking. I’m also looking for noteworthy bartenders to profile.
<3
aly