Tuesday: Meta appears to be down, seems like a good time to send a newsletter! Also: A chat about why I LOVE working from planes (and how to make the most of that time!)

Also: There's still a few seats left for next week's Mother's Day Gift Guide Zoom AMA Event!

Good morning!

Who else tried to visit Facebook a few minutes ago, could not load it, and got mega paranoid they were being hacked only to go to visit X and see “Facebook down” trending and realize it’s not you, it’s them and then take a big deep breath???

Phew….

So, if that was you (it was certainly me!) - you may possibly be looking for a way to pass the time until Meta fixes their Facebook/MessengerInstagram/etc and we can all get back to scrolling as usual!

I’m headed to Arizona this afternoon and wasn’t planning on getting a newsletter out until later today - but here we are, and we should make the best of it!

So, today I wanted to chat a bit about how much I love writing/working from planes (I know some friends look at as an opp to unplug, and I GET THAT) but there’s so much you can get done uninterrupted while inflight!

I've always loved working from planes. Years ago, even before inflight wifi was much of a thing, I began the process of answering a ton of mail offline while in flight and then WHOOSH (back then, sending mail did indeed make that sound) sending it all when I landed. Back then, I was a big fan of working offline in Google Docs too, and sharing those finished files when back online.

Now, of course, I'm all about the wifi. It lets me write this email to you right now. It lets me cover last-minute breaking news if suddenly a new chicken sandwich  or cookie flavor drops (these things happen!) - and it also lets me work on pending stories that otherwise would be on my mind this whole trip until I got them done anyway.

I effing love technology.

I often chat in my consulting sessions about how while traveling for work, be it on assignment or a press trip, it’s really important to incorporate time within the daily itinerary for journalists to get work done. This may include new assignments, pending assignments, last-minute rewrites or edits. Or even just catching up on the thousand emails they may have gotten that day.

But I think this responsibility also falls on the media side, we need to make the time — press trips are not vacations. They are work, but the rest of our work doesn’t go away if we are on one.

So it’s on us to find those little nuggets of time, whether it’s on the plane or in the van between activities or even by setting your alarm extra early in the morning and do what you need to do.

I was reminiscing with my friend Alice (who I will be seeing tomorrow!) a few months back about a few years ago when I was in London on a pre-royal wedding press trip and I discovered some breaking news about the wine that would be served at the royal wedding. I immediately pitched her via text message from the wine tasting I was at. It was a big scoop, and she excitedly answered in seconds, of course — and then I wrote that story from the car after, en route to my next activity. The story was published before I even got back to my hotel to change for dinner.

It sounds wild now, but it was all rather exciting. It’s as close as I get to feeling like the investigative journalist I trained to be.

As journalists, It’s our job to be engaged in what is going on during the trip so we can discover those potential story scoops (and just be good guests!) but also find ways to be on top of all other work we need to be doing. Otherwise, it’ll sitting at the back of our minds anyway!

Today's productivity tip is one that I hope will be useful to many of you -- whether you are here reading this as a publicist, a writer, or another related field, you probably sometimes are trying to work while on a plane. And that means you probably sometimes are ready to tear your hair out over in-flight wifi. I've been there. I'M OFTEN THERE. And over the years, I've discovered a few hacks that help me make inflight wifi work better, or at least get more out of it.

1 - Make sure your photo backups and automatic updates are disabled. They may be running in the background by default, and this can really slow down that already-slow wifi.

2 - Don't even try to download big files. Need to listen to an audio file so you can transcribe it in the air? Download it before you get on the plane. 

3 - Disable all browser extensions, pop-ups updates, and background apps. Anything that knows your location (that's even maps and weather) sucks the air out of your bandwidth.

4 - One tab at a time. Yes, I love multitasking too. But the more tabs that are open, the more tabs are trying to load at once. Use a single tab at a time, and remember to close that tab before going to something else.

5 - Try to load the mobile version of a website, even if you are on your computer -- that simply will load faster.

6 - If there is a site you plan to load when you get on the plane -- maybe it's your email, maybe it's a document server or content management system or even a calendar -- open it before you board so that you don't have to first load it from scratch when you are on board.

7 - Work on anything you can work on offline. That is more doable than you may think. I work a lot in Google Docs - you can set those to be edited offline and then share your updates when you are back on wifi. You can also download your email, read it, respond, and send when you are back on wifi. There's a lot you can do without using that data!

All this will help you make the best of the wifi, but also, I encourage you to do your best to situate yourself near a power outlet whenever possible! When you log into your booking to check in to your flight, that's a great time to check out a map of the plane and try to find a spot for yourself where you are more likely to have power.

With great power comes great responsibility. (Or, rather, with power, you can fulfill your responsibilities!) -- and be sure to have ALL your devices charged (that's your phone, your computer, your tablet), before you even board that plane.

Register for our AMA Mother’s Day Gift Guide Zoom Event Now!

You may remember that during the most recent gift guide season, Alice Dubin and I teamed up for a AMA Zoom session covering all things Valentine’s gift guide pitching — and so much more. That AMA registration list reached capacity in just a few hours and ended up being great fun — and a packed house.

We teased at the time we’d want to do it again soon and now we are! We’re teaming up on March 13, 2024 at 11 am PT/2 pm ET via Zoom for our next AMA session (focused on pitching for Mother’s Day gift guides!) and we’d love to invite anyone who is a paid subscriber of either of our newsletters. While this session will focus on all aspects of gift guide pitching, you are also welcome to ask questions about anything else — the sky’s the limit!

Want to take part? Find the registration link under the paywall at the very bottom of this email!

Gift guide season is almost upon us again - we hope we can help each other be as prepared as possible!

Check out my appearance last week on the Behind The Media podcast, with my gal Juliana Martins. We chat about A BUNCH of stuff, such as how brands can stick out to editors in a saturated market, how I decide which events I will attend vs decline, what startups, new venues, or brands with minimal budgets can do to get media attention, PR/pitching do’s and don’ts and more…including our mutual celeb crush and some of our favorite places to eat and drink!

So honored to see Muck Rack included me in their 2024 list of top ten most popular freelance journalists. Check out the list 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.

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: The Pasta Queen’s Coveted Pasta Sauces Are Now A Grocery Jaunt Away

• Food Network: Coffee Mate Makes the Trend Official With a New Creamer Specifically for Dirty Soda

• Forbes.com: 10 Relaxing Nightcaps To Enjoy In Honor Of National Sleep Awareness Month

• Forbes.com: 50 Cocktails To Enjoy On St. Patrick’s Day

• RetailMeNot: Savings Star Origin Story: How I Learned to Eat Well (In NY!) On a Shoestring Budget

• Best Life: 11 Things You Should Put Away When Guests Come Over, Experts Say

• RetailMeNot: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work

• RetailMeNot: Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It

• Food Network: How to get a free doughnut if you were impacted by the cellular network outage

• Forbes.com: Wonder Brings Celebrity Chef Cooking To Home Dining Rooms

• Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Is My Secret to Packing for a Week in a Single Carry-on Bag

• Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane

• RetailMeNot: 5 Superstar Ingredients for Your Meal-Stretching Pantry Starter Pack

• Today.com: Say goodbye to wrinkles with these expert-approved drugstore creams — starting at $12

• Clean Plates: The Healthy Trader Joe’s Sauce I Use in *Everything*

• Martha Stewart: 8 Storage Mistakes That Are Keeping Your Home From Being Organized

• Today.com: 27 healthy fast food items at popular US chains, according to dietitians and doctors

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

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.

RetailMeNot

I’m working on a story about my preference for growing fresh herbs in my home rather than spending grocery budget on herbs at the grocery store (which can get pricey and also have a short shelf life). The caveat here is that this is a story geared not towards those who have gardens or outdoor space but those maintaining herb gardens within small apartment kitchens - I’m writing this essay format, so my own experiences, but open to items shoppable online at major retailers to help make a small apartment herb garden prosper.

I’m rounding up the Best Easter Sales that Shouldn't Be Missed for 2024. I’m open to sales that aren’t necessarily billed as "Easter Sales" – there are going to be a ton of spring sales going on, too. So, really anything that helps you get Easter Basket stuffers, clothes, table decor, spring decor or whatever else for Easter is fair game. I’m trying to include these specific retailers - Target, CVS, Walmart, Michaels, Macy's, Kohl's, Carter's, but I’m open to others as well. Please remember to include the following in your pitch: When Do Easter Sales Start?, timing of Easter sales (when they begin, when the last-minute deals start, etc.), what is included in the sales, how to claim the deals, and so forth.

Budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter: As you all know, I write a lot of content for RMN related to budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter. I’m going to be working on a monthly column on the subject of cooking/eating well on a budget, and I’d love you to pitch me products/ideas to consider for it - maybe a new meal-stretching product that is a good deal at a grocery store, an awesome product to try that may cut my meal prep time in half, other themes as far as saving money on food/cooking/eating and doing it in a way that is smarter.

Forbes

Are any bars/restaurants planning a fun cocktail in honor of Purim? If you have something, please email me with the name of the cocktail, a description (not a recipe), a quote from the bartender or chef, and an image. (And please remember to consult my nifty photo guidelines here.) Please pitch me by March 10 for this 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.