Tuesday: SO many new assignments + give yourself the gift of education this HGG season

Plus: new job leads!

Good morning!

It’s a busy day and there’s a lot to do.

I have a few pending assignments to check off my list as this work week’s traditional routine will be somewhat abbreviated.

I’m heading to Chicago later this week for a few days to attend an exciting restaurant opening, and need to prepare for that. (Very much looking forward! I haven’t been in Chicago since pre-pandemic, and while it’s a super quick trip, I’m excited to return!)

Lots to cover meanwhile.

As I mentioned previously, I'm on the featured panel of travel experts who creates the nominee lists for various categories in the Newsweek Reader's Choice awards...the latest one I had a hand in was rather fun: Best casino resorts with live entertainment outside of Las Vegas. Check it out, some of my very faves are on there! (And if your client is on the list, be sure to share this far and wide so they can get lots of votes from their followers!) Also new: for Travel & Leisure, This $7 Luggage Accessory Helps Me Feel Safe When Traveling — and I'll Never Have to Replace It, and for Forbes.com, Holland America And Sur La Table Create Cooking Classes Inspired By Global Ports.

Give yourself the gift of education this HGG season

As we're in the throes of gift guide season right now, a lot of people are asking a lot of questions about affiliate marketing and how to implement it into their pitching and PR strategy. One fabulous option I've come across is Praize's Affiliate PR Masterclass. 

This masterclass is full of value:

Turn Brand Awareness Into Trackable Revenue. Pitching is of course all about spreading brand awareness, and that's super important, but when you boil it down—is it actually resulting in sales? If your PR efforts are still leaving you wondering about ROI and struggling to justify the performance of the coverage you're securing, learning more about Affiliate PR might be a game changer.

Emma Grace Moon, founder of Praize, discovered a breakthrough approach in 2019 that removes the guesswork from traditional PR. It's a proven system for securing high-quality media coverage that actually drives revenue. She's helped DTC brands like Great Jones, Kinfield, Jones Road, and Dame transform their press coverage into a trackable revenue channel. 

Her masterclass will unlock practices that can help you generate more revenue from PR coverage, increase the amount of high-quality press features you secure, and all the while build a profitable and scalable PR channel with clear ROI.

This masterclass goes beyond traditional PR, from understanding publication affiliate ecosystems to crafting compelling pitches and optimizing coverage for search. Get practical tools, including step-by-step guides, an Affiliate Marketing Dictionary, and real-world examples from successful DTC brands. Ready to transform your PR efforts? Click here to sign up for the masterclass that unlocks revenue-driving PR, and get first access when it launches on December 1. 

*This has been an ad for Praize's Affiliate PR Masterclass. Interested in placing your own ad, email me. I have a policy of only advertising products and services I truly believe in and find value in for this community - so tell me more about what you are working on!

Give yourself the gift of great hair this holiday season

My besties at RPZL are offering a staggering 30% off sitewide as their pre-Black Friday sale. This is something that never happens and a great time to stock up on hair accessories (including pieces from my collection!).

Job leads

Exciting job opp!!!

IHG Hotels & Resorts has an open role in their Luxury & Lifestyles PR team – they are looking for a PR manager. Get more info here.

Did you catch that I’m currently offering a 50% off deal on subscriptions — and you can lock in that price now…forever? Upgrade your subscription now!

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 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!

• Travel & Leisure: This $7 Luggage Accessory Helps Me Feel Safe When Traveling — and I'll Never Have to Replace It

• Forbes.com: Holland America And Sur La Table Create Cooking Classes Inspired By Global Ports

• Southern Living: My recipe for air fryer pumpkin seeds!

• Forbes.com: New Vegan Spot Brings Basque Fare To New York City

• Forbes.com: Holiday Gift Guide 2024: The Best Gifts For The Starter Kitchen

• Forbes: Holiday Gift Guide 2024: Beefy Texas-Inspired Gifts For The Southwestern Carnivore

• Food Network: Trader Joe’s Finally Has a White Queso Dip and It Was Well Worth the Wait

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.

Apartment Therapy

Chefs Share Their One Essential Cleaning Tip for Holiday Hosting that Keeps Them Organized - I’d love if you can reach out and share it!

Unsafe Kitchen Design Trends Contractors Wish You'd Stop Doing: For this, I’d love to speak to a few contractors about kitchen trends they deem "unsafe" — either because they create problems down the road or because they are things that actually no one should be DIYing. This can be a mix of DIY trends (from TikTok, Instagram, etc) and standard trends that contractors deem unsafe because of possible problems down the road or that they're just too dangerous to DIY. 

Yahoo Life

I’m rounding up the best pedometers for counting your steps. This will likely include a smartwatch and fitness tracker, but would primarily be basic-style pedometers that you can clip to your waist or wear on a lanyard, etc.. this will be a tested roundup like the stories I did on cooling fans and sleep trackers, so I’ll need to be calling in a bunch to try over the next few weeks…if you have one, please email me with more info now to get a beat on the rush. I’ll be testing each one for factors such as reliable, accurate, and easy to use, but once I have all the details of this assignment pegged out, I’ll also be seeking some expert sources to ask some requests regarding pedometers and what to look for - I imagine this will likely include personal trainers, coaches, fitness experts, exercise physiologists, and so forth.

Saatva Sleep Enlightened blog

It may seem so far off right now, but I’m going to be working on a story on how to sleep better when Daylight Saving Time BEGINS in March — will need sleep experts to weigh in. Will have some more info on parameters and the kind of questions I need answered soon, but meanwhile, if you work with a sleep expert, please send them my way :)

Forbes.com

Gift guide time!

I’m seeking the best gifts for the martini lover. This could be obvious martini ingredients, such as vodka or gin, great olives, and so forth - but also glassware, bar tools, and fun martini-themed other items that don’t even have to be edible in any way but along the concept of …fun for martini fans!.

If you want to pitch me for these gift guides, please be sure to include:

• Name of product

• A few sentences about why you think I should consider it for this particular guide

• a few links to online retail for this product (MUST be available online and currently in stock)

• A LINK to an image of the product

• Price

Note: I’m ONLY interested in being pitched products for these guides. Please don’t send me your influencer or chef’s picks as their favorites - this is not an expert commentary piece. Thanks!

Also for Forbes, I’m rounding up the most exciting restaurant/bar openings happening in Vegas later this year/early next. I have some great ones on my radar already, but trying to round it out a bit more.

Also: Do you know of an airport lounge that has an especially interesting F&B offering/feature? I want to hear about it!

For Forbes, for National Espresso Day, i’m looking for fun espresso based cocktails - not necessarily just the traditional espresso martini but other riffs. These must exist on bar/restaurant menus.

One more: For Forbes, I’m rounding up fun and unique Thanksgiving-themed cocktails or dishes (and please don’t just pitch me a table of turkey and trimmings for this one - I want Thanksgiving-inspired, say, perhaps if someone is doing Thanksgiving poutine or Thanksgiving egg rolls or gumbo or the like. These must be on the menu at a bar or restaurant, at least as a limited-time special (longer term is fine too), and when pitching me, please include Name of rest/bar, where it’s located, link to their website, description of the cocktail, and a quote from a bartender/mixologist/chef about cocktail/dish as well as a good-quality photo and appropriate photo credits.

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!

<3

aly