Tuesday: If it’s perishable, please say so. AKA: Please stop making my front door a science experiment.
Please come to my subscriber town hall event tomorrow!
Good morning!
First an announcement: I will be hosting a no-holds-barred virtual town hall lunch and learn session for subscribers TOMORROW, Feb 11 at 1 pm ET.
If you are a paid subscriber, it’s 100% free to attend, and you don’t even have to register. It’s first come, first served, until we reach Zoom capacity and you can ask me anything at all related to industry-related (or not industry related!) questions that are burning your soul.
Consider it an unpaid consulting session! If you want to attend, I’ll drop the Zoom link under a paywall at the bottom of this email, and if you have any questions…drop me an email at alywalansky@gmail.com — not a paid subscriber? Upgrade now, I do these often and you’ll want to get involved. They are so fun!
A quick PSA from someone who very much enjoys checking out, cooking with, and eating a lot of the really fun and interesting food-related samples that arrive at my door … when I know they are there.
I know we’re discussed the best practices when sending perishables topic a lot, but I wanted to laser in on one specific aspect today we really haven’t covered so much before: Lately I’ve had a surprising number of packages arrive that contain perishable food without any indication that they are perishable and with zero heads-up about timing or tracking.
Which means your beautiful, thoughtfully packed, pitch-perfect product is sometimes spending quality time in a building lobby or outside or in some warehouse somewhere instead of in my refrigerator.
Not ideal for anyone.
A few gentle reminders from the receiving end:
Please label the box PERISHABLE. Not tiny. Not hidden. Not vibes-based. Big, obvious, can’t-miss-it PERISHABLE. I cannot prioritize opening a mystery box if I don’t know there’s burrata living inside. And here’s the reality: I get DOZENS of boxes some days. I may not get to that box the day it’s received. Or the next. But if I know it’s coming, or know it’s perishable, I will. More on that part next.
Send tracking: Even if you think I don’t need it. Even if the brand says it will arrive tomorrow. Even if Mercury is in retrograde. Send. The. Tracking. You’d be shocked at the epic journeys across our country some recent boxes of protein sent to me have taken.
Communicate the arrival window. I travel a lot for work. Many writers do. If I know something important is coming, I can plan, pause travel, ask a neighbor, or make arrangements. If I don’t know, the box is rolling the dice solo.
Perception is reality. While no one is worrying about heat waves in these parts right now, they are a lot of the year and in other parts of the country. But also: Deep freezes. Rain, snow, sleet, ice. Wildlife with ambition. The clock starts ticking the minute it lands.
I want your products at their best. You want me experiencing them, evaluating them, potentially photographing them, and tasting them at their best. Proper labeling and communication make that happen.
Truly, I love receiving your packages. I just love receiving them consciously and it breaks my heart to waste food when there’s so much food insecurity in our country and it hurts my soul to waste your client’s product and budget just due to poor communication.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Upcoming travel
I’ll be in Miami for SOBEWFF next week (SO EXCITED TO ESCAPE THIS ARCTIC TUNDRA)! If you will be there too reach out and lets compare event schedules to see if we have any overlap!
I’m also going to be in Charleston in early March for their Wine + Food festival. Keep in touch if you’ll be there, too!
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available for the remainder of Q1 2026!
I can join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and do a team Q&A and answer any of your questions about planning events, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up :)
We can switch it up in any way you or your team needs. While most of my calls do end up being virtual, I just did one where we did our session over a martini lunch! I’m available for whatever your team prefers. Lets chat.
I’m now contributing to the Yahoo Creators platform, writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!)
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this Substack, which goes out to more than 10,000 media professionals every single day.
Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!
Tools of the trade
A great PR tool worth knowing is Press Hook. If your media response rates are slipping and journalists are harder to reach than ever, Press Hook is worth paying attention to.
It’s a centralized platform that helps PR teams get in front of journalists without relying on cold inbox pitches. Journalists use it to discover and request products when they’re actively working on stories — which means more qualified interest for brands.
Agencies and in-house teams report an average 20% uplift in press coverage within six months, especially as media inboxes become increasingly saturated.
Reportable makes press releases AI-search ready. Turn static announcements into multimedia stories that today’s AI engines actually surface, summarize, and share—because if AI can’t find it, did it even happen? Check them out at Reportable.co or book a time with Karen Reynolds, 25+ years in PR tech.
I partnered with Pitchcraft to be able to share a special offer just for my readers: Use code ALY200: new users will get $200 off their first month of the monthly PR Membership or code ALY400: This one offers new users $400 off their first year of the annual PR Membership. This is a great network to join because it’s a community of both PR professionals and journalists working together to find better ways to work together and share opportunities, and you know how much I believe in all of that
Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who you’ve seen as the star expert panelist for several of our gift guide pitching workshops!) - she launched her new course, Affiliate Marketing & Performance-Based PR for Publicists - It’s built specifically to help PR pros and agencies add affiliate management as a core capability, something we all know is completely essential in today’s media landscape.
Grab the Valentine’s Day gift guide pitching webinar best practices webinar — for free!
Now available is our brand-new just released Valentine’s Day gift guide pitching webinar recording — grab that one right 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.
Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Southern Living: The Best Store-Bought Chocolates For Valentine’s Day
Southern Living: We Asked Southern Chefs For The Best Thing They Ate This Year—Here’s What They Said
Forbes.com: Toast To Your Beloved On Valentine’s Day With 19 Quintessential Cocktails
Forbes.com: 8 Dishes To Enjoy In Celebration Of Valentine’s Day
Forbes.com: 7 Great Dishes And Drinks To Enjoy In Honor Of Mardi Gras
Forbes.com: 6 Gorgeous Cocktails Inspired By ‘Bridgerton’
Apartment Therapy: The 8 Biggest Decluttering Regrets That Haunt These Experts
Travel & Leisure: Matching Sets Are My Secret to Staying Cozy on Long-haul Flights—Here Are 14 I’m Eyeing for Winter, From $27
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler of 25 Years, and These Are the 18 Products I Swear By for Personal Safety in 2026
Travel & Leisure: This Gel Seat Cushion Makes Flights More Comfortable
Southern Living: The 3-Second Rule Is The Easiest Packing Method I’ve Ever Tried
Parade.com: How to Use an Air Fryer (Beginner’s Guide) - Parade
Apartment Therapy: My Packing Trick Helps Me Pack Perfectly Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
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.
Yahoo Creators
Rounding up some great wellness-oriented items to give your home a refresh as you enter the new year — this may include items that will help you have a more restful sleep, streamline your kitchen, get you organized, and more. I’m also looking for products/services to give yourself a refresh in 2026. This can be everything from meal kits and subscription boxes to wellness items and so forth.
Have any fun Mardi Gras-related products or gift ideas? (Think shipping some perfect gumbo to someone who lives states away from Nola and misses the flavors of the city.) Send me an email!
I’m working on several Valentine’s Day gift guides: I’m looking for wellness gifts, pet gifts, food/spirits gifts, and more. To pitch me for these guides, please be sure to include the following:
Name of item
Links to major retailers where sold (it’s in your best interest to include several retailer link options when pitching, especially major ones like Amazon)
Link to image and any necessary credits
Description why it’s a fit
Item must be currently available and currently in stock. Be sure to start a new email thread and be clear in the subject line what specific gift guide(s) you are pitching. Just replying to this email is a great way to get your pitch buried in a heap - we don’t want that! And, yes, in answer to all the questions in my inbox: These are all earned media, and not sponsored, guides.
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
Newsweek Readers Choice
As I mentioned above, nominations for the Readers’ Choice Health & Fitness contests are now open. The five contests for the new Health & Fitness theme are:
Best Gym (i.e. Planet Fitness, Gold’s)
Best Boutique Fitness Chains (i.e. Orangetheory, SoulCycle, Equinox)
Best Training & Running Shoes
Best Athletic Attire
Best Mindfulness & Mental Wellness apps
If you have any you think I should consider for my own list of potential nominations, please email me!
Forbes
I’m starting to seek Passover (KFP) wine, spirits, and food products, if you have any - please drop me an email with more information!
Thanks!
Link to tomorrow’s Town Hall event is below this pay wall!