Tuesday: Lots of newly published V-Day content -- including gift guides! Plus: Asked and answered - here's why you weren't included in that gift guide or roundup.

Also: A flash sale on consulting sessions!

Hi, friends!

Good morning! I received lots of emails in response to yesterday’s discussion about perishable deliveries — who knew that was a topic that inspired so many feelings!

I think I’m going to do a deeper dive into mailer best practices (more generally) in this weekend’s Industry Insights email (these weekly emails are a special supplemental feature for paid subscribers!) — so stay tuned…

Also very popular in my inbox yesterday? The dreaded and always popular “why weren’t we included in this story???” email — always a common email to receive after I publish a gift guide or roundup.

Believe it or not, no: Pitching an item for a gift guide doesn’t automatically mean you are getting in. We get HUNDREDS of pitches for each of those guides. Same for cocktail roundups. So, I thought maybe it may be helpful to some of you to discuss some reasons you maybe weren’t included — and help you have a better chance next time around.

1. You didn't meet the deadline

Those deadlines aren't arbitrary. If I'm working on a story on Monday, chances are I hardly even remember it by later in the week. And pitches that come in after I'm done writing it and submitting it are much like adding cheese to a burger after it's been eaten. It's over. It's done.

Your best bet to be included in a story is not to pitch me after the deadline, but before the deadline. And, in fact, the earlier the better. Once I get everything I need, I wrap things up.

2. You didn't follow directions.

I try my best to be extremely specific about the parameters I need for a particular story. If you are pitching me a cocktail, and I ask for 5 specific questions to be answered about it and you only answer 2 of them, that means I can't consider it.

3. It wasn't a fit.

It happens, I'm sorry! If you send me a banana and I'm writing about oranges, this won't work. I love a Negroni. But If I'm working on a roundup of pink cocktails...it's not going to be a fit. Unless of course it's a very cool and unique spin on Negronis that actually IS pink, in which case I want to know!

4. You did everything right.

Wait, what?

Yes. For the average story, we get HUNDREDS, sometimes thousands of pitches. We may have 10 or 15 or 20 spots available for inclusion. That means 90% of those pitches are NOT included. I go for the best fits. Not all the fits. There may be absolutely nothing wrong with the item you pitched, it just wasn't AS good as another. It doesn't mean it won't work out next time!

5. Oh, and about updates...

No, we can't squeeze your client into a story that already happened. It's not an option. (See the comment about post-burger cheese above.) If you want to be included, follow tips 1-4 next time.

6. You were difficult to work with

This is something we don’t often talk about, but it bears repeating. I don’t need to be thanked, I don’t need you even to be friendly. I know you are just doing your job, as am I. (I mean, I try to always be nice anyway, but I get that’s not everyone’s morning latte.)

But if you are rude and aggressive or demanding, it doesn’t mean that I won’t work with you in the future. (See: Sending me the wrong information, and then sending a barrage of IMMEDIATE CORRECTION NEEDED NOW emails after, blaming me when I only used your information.)

But it does mean I won’t be as eager if there’s someone else offering exactly the sort of commentary/product you are offering, but not offering stress and aggravation in the process. Be a person who is easy to work with (or at least not HARD to work with) and people will jump on your emails faster!

Reminder: I’m offering a limited-time special consulting session discount for paid subscribers: If you are a paid subscriber, you can for a limited time, get 25% off a virtual consulting session (where we can have your own private or agency-wide AMA session on anything you want to chat about!) — I have some slots open in the next few weeks, so if you or your agency is interested in booking one, email me today and we’ll chat details.

Speaking of paid subscriptions, Praytell (longtime subscribers and friends!) are currently running a sweepstakes on their Instagram where they will be gifting paid subscriptions to my newsletter to a few people — I so appreciate the support and the love! You can read more about it on their Instagram now.

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For Forbes.com, I have tons of Valentine’s Day content to share. Several of my Valentine’s Day gift guides published: Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Romantic Culinary Experiences To Gift This Season and Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Gifts For The Romantic Martini Lover, also for Forbes.com: 25 Romantic Cocktails To Order For Your Valentine and 10 Delicious Ways To Set The Mood With Caviar This Valentine’s Day. Also, a more aspirational date night idea: Houston Restaurant’s $15,000 Cocktail Experience Offers A Valentine’s Day Fit For Royals.

Thanks SO much to all of you who attended our webinar event last week, covering the upcoming ShareASale to Awin migration. During the Zoom, some of the topics covered were an overview of the migration process and timeline, pricing of networks, and choosing a network for your specific client needs. If you missed it (or were present and just want to refer back to some of the topics covered during the info-packed session), we do have a recording available. This recording is available for anyone who is a paid subscriber of my newsletter, as well as Jill’s and Alice’s newsletters. Email any of the three of us and let us know and we’ll get the link right out to you!

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 Cruise Ship for Families 2025, 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!

• Forbes.com: Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Romantic Culinary Experiences To Gift This Season

• Forbes.com: 10 Delicious Ways To Set The Mood With Caviar This Valentine’s Day.

• Forbes.com: Houston Restaurant’s $15,000 Cocktail Experience Offers A Valentine’s Day Fit For Royals.

• Forbes.com: Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best Gifts For The Romantic Martini Lover

• Forbes.com: 25 Romantic Cocktails To Order For Your Valentine

• Apartment Therapy: I Tried the 30/30 Rule, and I Discovered Something Unexpected

• Forbes.com: Ghost Donkey Brings Agave-Forward Cocktail Program To Chicago’s River North

• Travel & Leisure: A Travel Writer's $10 Amazon Packing Hack for Shoes

• Apartment Therapy: 10 Experts Share Their Biggest Decluttering Regrets

• Parade.com: How To Use an Air Fryer (Beginner's Guide)

• 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

• Saatva: 5 Ways to Deal With Sleep Deprivation

• 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.

Forbes

The Super Bowl is a week away! I’m looking for restaurants and bars around the nation doing fun cocktails, dishes, and desserts in honor of this year’s Super Bowl.

If you have anything for me, please make sure you have all of the following before pitching:

• Name of drink/dish

• Where served: Name of restaurant/bar, city, state, URL

• Description (not a recipe!)

• Quote about dish from chef/bartender

• LINK to image (low res is fine) - and appropriate photo credits

Valentine's Day Gift Guide 2025: The Best High-End Red Wines For Warming A Heart This Season. Great high-end red wines for a chilly winter night or a romantic date night this season.

To pitch me for any of these gift guides, please make sure to include ALL of the following:

• Name of product

• LINK where sold (does NOT have to be a major retailer for these!)

• Description/why YOU think I should consider it for this specific guide

• Link to dropbox image of product (does not need to be high res but should be good quality)

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