Tuesday: New HGG assignments pending, including both Mother's Day AND Father's Day content.
Time is flying, y'all.
Good morning!
Wowzer…was yesterday as unexpectedly a Manic Monday for any of you? There was one point my inbox looked like a hurricane had hit it.
Let us hope that today is just a wee bit calmer, but with what is coming up this week, I don’t really expect it…
If you scroll down to the pending assignments section, you’ll see that I have about a dozen assignments pending for a wide variety of outlets. This includes gift guides for both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day as well as several fun chef-related commentary needs.
(If you are sending chef input for those stories, please keep in mind that the two ETNT stories are the soonest deadlines and therefore the first priority.)
As next week is a travel week for me (though obviously I’ll still be working and also sending out this email!), that means this week will be extra jam-packed.
The coronation of King Charles III is less than a month away and we’re already seeing, much like with the royal weddings and jubilees, limited-edition product launches in celebration. Today for Forbes, I wrote about Nyetimber’s limited-release coronation bottle, and today for Food Network, I covered a commemorative collection being launched by Fortum & Mason (who, incidentally, makes my very favorite tea — I fully plan on stocking up when I’m in London in a few weeks!)
Royal watchers tend to immerse themselves in all things royal news and history all the time, while the rest of the world catches up when something really big is going on. Excited to be in one of those times — and for lots more coronation-related content to come.
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!
In case you missed it, I was recently a guest on a podcast. Check it out here — I share some easy-to-follow tips on how emerging brands can get the attention of busy editors.
Speaking of podcasts, I was a guest on the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast last month (I ADORE Lexie Smith!), and you can still catch it here. We chatted at length about pitching, the ever-changing landscape of the editorial process, and more.
(Also, if you host a podcast that has anything to do with media/PR/writer content or food/bev/travel content and are interested in me coming on as a guest, I’d love if you reach out!)
Food Network: Fortnum & Mason Launches New Collection In Celebration of Coronation of King Charles III
Forbes: Nyetimber Launches Bottle In Honor Of The Coronation Of King Charles III
Forbes: New York City Is Getting A Malibu Barbie Cafe This Summer
Clean Plates: The Best Whole Foods Salad Dressings, According to Nutritionists
Best Life: 1 in 3 People Are Against Splitting the Dinner Bill Evenly—Here's How to Handle It
Best Life: 6 Things to Put Away When Guests Come Over
RetailMeNot: 13 Stores That Let You Bring in Old Clothes for Recycling
Wine Enthusiast: 10 Passover Wines to Make Your Seder Shine
Eat This, Not That: 6 Steakhouse Chains That Serve the Best Fries
Southern Living: How To Preheat An Air Fryer
Forbes: Fun Passover Cocktails To Welcome Guests At The Seder
Forbes: Shopping For Passover Wine And Spirits Requires Careful Preparation
Forbes: Chocolate Matzo Ice Cream Is The Perfect Dessert This Passover
Best Life: 6 Items You Should Always Have in Your Kitchen When Guests Come Over
Clean Plates: The Healthiest Tomato Sauces You Can Buy at the Grocery Store
Bicycling: 10 Smoothie Recipes for Cyclists to Fuel Their Rides
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
Father's Day Gifts for Every Type of Dad: This is an update of last year’s story, and I’m looking for great gifts that are affordable ("affordable" obviously varies by budget, but I’m trying to stay under $200 and have a wide range of prices) for a variety of categories. The categories I’m going for in this guide include: Foodie dad, Techie dad, The dad who has everything, fashionable dad, outdoorsy dad, indoorsy dad, bookworm dad, handy dad, the Dad who's trying to downsize and doesn't want clutter, for the fitness-obsessed dad, so keep this in mind when pitching.
Cheap Baby Shower Favors (Under $5 per Person): Shower favors aren't a requirement, but if you're hosting a shower and find them fun, or you've been put on favor duty, you are likely on a budget and looking for some inexpensive options. "Cheap" is relative, but I’m trying to stay under $5 per favor. Note: Consider when pitching that these favors do not need to be a single product – can be several items put together. Could be "Bags of Candy" (which requires you to buy some candy and bags) or "Cute Baby Succulents")
Parade.com
I’m working on two “how-to/kitchen 101” types of stories this week —
How to cut an onion: Would love chefs, culinary experts, food safety experts, food authorities, etc.. to weigh in as far as how to peel an onion, how to cut an onion for beginners, step by step, how to cut an onion without crying (it’s possible!), how to cut an onion into strips, how to store cut onions, etc.
Does honey go bad? - Would love similar types of experts for this one as well, as far as the best way to store honey, if honey does go bad (and if it doesn’t, why is there an expiration date), why it crystallizes and what that means. Does raw honey have a higher likelihood of going bad than not-raw honey?
Best Life
Items You Should Always Have in Your Living Room When Guests Come Over: I'm not looking for product pitches, but more TYPES of products that as a host it'd be good to have when entertaining to improve a guest's visit/experience (look at this kitchen version of the story for a better idea of the kind of responses I'm looking for.)
Eat This, Not That
What a Professional Chef Orders at McDonald’s: I’d love to round up some chefs sharing their favorite orders and why it’s their go-to.
Fast-Food Restaurants That Serve the Best Mac and Cheese: I want to cover what makes a good fast food mac and cheese and the history of fast food mac and cheese, as well as chefs weighing in on their fave fast food mac and cheese and why.
TODAY.com
I’m rounding up Cinco de Mayo food deals at chain restaurants. I’m not looking for free delivery or reward point type of deals at this time but more BOGOs, freebies, discounts, etc. Please be sure to tell me how to claim the deal (i.e. coupon code, downloading app, etc) when responding.
Forbes.com
I’m working on the following three Mother’s Day gift guides:
The Best Mail-Order Dinners — I’m looking for dinners that can be ordered and shipped to their door. This can be complete meal/recipe kits or readymade meals she just had to pull together or reheat and can have a full beautiful gourmet dinner ready without even having to leave home.
The Best Pantry Staples For From-Scratch Cooks - . This is the mom who doesn't love meal kits or semi-homemade meals but wants to do everything from scratch -- so this could be the ingredients to help her do that, from rare and exotic spices to high-end flours and great olive oil. Like she's the mom that won't buy the readymade simmer sauce but rather source the 12 different spices she needs to make it herself.
The Best Grilling Gear: Why do dads get the premium on grilling gifts? Lots of women love to grill, whether it's a gorgeous steak or lobster tails and veggies. This will be both grilling accessories and also items to put on the grill.
For any of these gift guides, please pitch in this format:
Product name
URL where sold, price
description of why it’s a fit for this guide
LINK to image
I’m also looking for home entertaining experts to send some commentary over email about how to plan your own at-home coronation watch party.
Finally, I am looking for bars/restaurants around the world that have created specialty cocktails in honor of the coronation of King Charles III this May. I’ll need the usual — where it is, what’s in it, why it’s a perfect cocktail for the occasion, a quote from a bartender/owner/chef, and a high res image. I’m really excited about this one, so lets try to find some great cocktails!
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've been popping into a lot of PR team virtual meetings and some other fun stuff and making myself available to answer all sorts of questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. I like to keep these things chill and comfortable and relaxed all by sharing perspective and learning from one another. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat!
If you are interested in setting anything up for your own team in the coming months, please email me and we'll get something on the books! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts. If you are a freelance publicist and want to join in with a few other freelance publicist friends and set something up, we can do that as well!
Have a great day!