Tuesday: My greatest subscription sale yet + today's productivity tip + new assignments!
Plus: Work with any tea brands? Email me for a story sourcing opp. Also: Lots of newly published content.
Good morning!
First, a rather exciting newsletter announcement!
As today is October 1, that means we’re officially in the season of harvests, Halloween, and Thanksgiving (is there any doubt that Thanksgiving is the ultimate of holidays for foodies?!).
Tomorrow evening also starts the Jewish new year.
To that end (to all those ends, to be more succinct), I’ll be offering my biggest sale ever, available through Thanksgiving weekend (yes, that means for the next two months!) - as a well of celebrating friendship, gratitude, and new beginnings — of showing how much I value all of you here and how excited I am at new friends to come, I am offering 50% off monthly or annual paid subscription updates!
What do you get with an upgraded subscription? You get subscriber-only Zoom workshops, webinars, and Q&As (often with exciting guest hosts!), as well as industry commentary dedicated posts, and so much more (I’ve even done an IRL subscriber happy hour from time to time in various cities, and we’ve had so much fun!).
Times are tough and I love and appreciate everyone in this community who is here and continues to be here. I want to thank you in the best way I can: This is the biggest sale I’ve ever offered, and it’s my gift to you in the spirit of Friendsgiving all season long.
Today’s productivity tip!
We’re all so busy, it can feel really overwhelming at times. I know it does for me. I’m stressed…all…the…time. Especially, it seems, of late.
And we’ve all been that person at one point that has so many things we need to do, we don’t know where to start, and end up paralyzed with indecision — which then wastes time and takes away from getting anything done.
It's not just the work tasks but all the tasks you hope to check off in a day. Even the little ones that feel small but are actually pretty significant to your overall routine. When all those tasks do get checked off, you feel so great!
Keeping to a personal agenda will help with that. It's all about managing your life, one task at a time. And making sure you leave nothing out. Sometimes I will put these to-do lists in priority order, with the biggest tasks on top and the smaller or less important on the bottom, but you can also design your list from what is easier to knock out to what is more demanding. Whatever works for you!
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 U.S. Wellness Resort (I was on the panel that created the list of nominees! as well as those for Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!
Yahoo: Get a handle on your sleep health with the best sleep trackers for 2024, tested and reviewed
Parade: Clueless About How To Use an Air Fryer? Consider This Your 101 Guide
Forbes: Fine Dining At 36,000 Feet? Inflight Menus Have Gotten An Upgrade
Forbes: 20 Great Cocktails To Try In Honor Of National Vodka Day
Apartment Therapy: We Asked 5 Pro Travelers How They Keep Their Luggage Clean, and Here’s What They Said
RetailMeNot: 50+ Government Employee Discounts Worth Knowing in 2024
Clean Plates: 20 Quick and Healthy Air Fryer Snacks You Can Make in a Snap
Southern Living: Can You Eat Sprouted Potatoes? An Expert Explains
YourTango: 10 Most Unique Wedding Locations Around The World
YourTango: 10 Most Magical Wedding Venues In The USA
YourTango: 18 Charming Places In America That Feel Just Like Europe
Food Network: The Rumors Are True: Peanut Butter & Jelly M&M’s Are (Sort Of) Making a Comeback
Forbes: TikTok Sensation Cucumber Bowls Are Now Available In Real Life
Saatva: How to Improve Sleep Hygiene: 12 Best Sleep Hygiene Tips.
Apartment Therapy: I Sent a Pro Organizer Photos of My Tangled Mess of Cord Clutter — Here’s How She Fixed It
Travel & Leisure: This Flight Attendant-approved Jumpsuit Is My Go-to Comfy Airplane Outfit — and It’s Only $27 Right Now
Today.com: 11 healthiest fast food breakfasts, according to dietitians
Apartment Therapy: The One Thing You Always Travel with That’s Actually Disgusting (And How to Keep It Clean)
Travel & Leisure: I Tried Amazon’s ‘Magical’ Sleep Mask on a Long-haul Flight — and Now It’s the Most Important Item in My Bag.
Travel & Leisure: I Travel Solo Frequently, and This $18 Gadget Makes Me Feel Safer in Hotel Rooms
Today.com: The best drugstore eye creams to tackle wrinkles, dark circles and dryness, according to experts
Apartment Therapy: I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Messy Kitchen Junk Drawer — Here’s How She Fixed It
Yahoo Life: The best cooling fans of 2024, tested and reviewed
Travel & Leisure: These Arch Support Sandals Are the Only Shoes I Wear in the Summer — and They’re Only $47
Apartment Therapy: I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Cluttered Medicine Cabinet, and Here’s How She Fixed It
Travel & Leisure: You Don't Want to Step Foot in a Waterpark Without These 18 Essentials From Just $9
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
I’m working on a roundup of the best black teas of 2024 - for this story, I’m going to test a variety of black teas to find the best in different categories. If you represent a black tea, please email me so I can try it out!
For this story, I’m also looking to interview 2-3 RDs to discuss the health benefits of black tea and the reasons someone might want to incorporate it into their daily lifestyle; I also also want to interview a tea expert to discuss the best ways to make black tea, the advantages/disadvantages of bags vs. loose leaf, why prices vary so widely, how to identify a good brand, etc. Note: I cannot include expert quotes from individuals working for the companies of the products/services I’m considering including in this list — the experts I include will be unbiased/not affiliated with a particular product or brand. (Which, btw, is always the case, and yet seems to surprise people!)
Forbes
National Gumbo Day is coming up and (spoiler alert) - gumbo is my favorite comfort food, but it’s also so hard to find a truly great one outside of NOLA. So, if you are a restaurant doing a really fun, unique, or just special (there’s nothing JUST about special, you guys) variation on gumbo, anywhere - please email me and tell me more about it. It will need to appear on a bar or restaurant menu, and I’ll need a description, chef quote, image, and photo credit.
Note: I got a lot of questions about the potato day I posted yesterday - fyi: there actually ARE several dedicated potato days, both in August and October, but because I’ve gotten SO MJUCH pushback as a result of this ask (sorry, friends!) - this story will now focus on National Mashed Potato Day rather than generalized potatoes. National Mashed Potato Day is celebrated on October 18. So, send any really creative upgrades on mashed potatoes you or your client may be doing! Same parameters as above.
Also: Do you know of an airport lounge that has an especially interesting F&B offering/feature? I want to hear about it!
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!
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<3
aly