Tuesday: Some crucial takeaways from my inbox (HGG edition) + new pending stories!
Tuesday: Some crucial takeaways from my inbox (HGG edition) + new pending stories!
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Good afternoon!
Whenever people ask me about my favorite type of media event, I always say it’s the experiential ones - of course I love a fun dinner or cocktail party — but the ones where we actually learn something or have a unique experience, those are the most memorable ones. To that end, tonight I’m attending a Basque-themed cooking class and I’m SO excited - will share more about that experience in tomorrow’s email!
Today’s newsletter is coming to you a bit later in the day because I’m DEEPLY in HGG mode and wrapping up one in the next few days…that means I’ve spent much of today rifling through your many (many….many…did I mention many…?!) beautiful pitches and gathering the best fits for each guide.
Related: I actually have some new other-than-HGG stories pending…scroll down for some sourcing guidelines for those!
As I pull together the first one though, I’ve noticed some pretty common issues among the pitches that stood in the way of their product making the cut. As we still have a bit of gift guide pitching time to go…some things to keep in mind:
1 - I was pitched a few items that were out of stock when I clicked on their retail links. No item can go in a gift guide if it’s an item that is not available. (This is equally true if it’s out of stock or not yet available.)
2 - I always ask for imagery when I give sourcing instructions and a few items I would have loved to include did not include the image.
3 - Several items listed pricing in the pitch that was not accurate — when I did a quick link check I got the correct price. Others mentioned contents of a gift set or package that was not fully accurate - i.e. this includes X, Y, and Z but it actually included less or more than that. It’s important to get details right so I don’t have to come back to you after the fact.
4 - Samples. I don’t need to have samples to write about something. However, if you are going to send samples as far as consideration or testing or a closer look, it only makes sense to send it during the period that things are still being considered…if it arrives weeks later…that door has closed, and it’s too late to do anything about it even if it’s the best fit ever.
Online retail! Yes, it’s great you have an awesome Texas-style brisket sampler available for the holidays - but it’s not a fit for my guide unless it’s available for online retail and can be shipped nationwide.
Anyway, some things to consider when pitching these and other guides going forward!
Reminder that I’m still working on a bunch of holiday gift guides and if you want to be extra prepared to pitch, be sure to check out the complete recording of our Holiday Gift Guide Q&A with Jill, Aly and Alice (sign up for access to this recording from August 2024) — you’ll need to be subscribers of all three of our newsletters to grab this particular recording but you’ll get tons of value!
This weekend’s Industry Insights edition was deliberately rather timely to the season - some spooktacular PR/media takeaways from trick-or-treating.
Related: How to Pitch Media in an Election Season
As I mentioned previously, I am part of the panel of travel & food journalists who come up with the nominees for the Newsweek Reader’s Choice awards in a number of categories. Live now is my latest category I contributed to - Best Packing Cube!
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 U.S. Wellness Resort (I was on the panel that created the list of nominees! as well as those for Best Packing Cube, Best Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!
Forbes: Amaya To Bring Vegas Vibes And Tulum Flavor To The Cosmopolitan.
Food Network: HelloFresh Made Rachel Green's Thanksgiving Trifle Better
Food Network: Trader Joe’s Finally Has a White Queso Dip and It Was Well Worth the Wait
Clean Plates: Smart Shopping: Add Ceylon Cinnamon to Your Cart
Forbes.com: Michael Mina’s Orla Is A Beautiful Fusion Of Egyptian And Mediterranean Flavors
Plate Magazine: Marcel Vigneron’s Cracked Potatoes Make a Case for Freezing Your Fries
Forbes: José Andrés To Open His First Arizona-Based Restaurant Concept
Today.com: 27 Healthy Fast Food Menu Items, According to Dietitians
Southern Living: Can You Eat Squash Skin?
Southern Living: The Difference Between Chives And Green Onions
Forbes: 12 Halloween Cocktails That Will Add Some Spirit To This Spooky Season
Apartment Therapy: I Asked a Chef to Help Me Organize My Fridge, and Here’s What He Said
Yahoo: Get a handle on your sleep health with the best sleep trackers for 2024, tested and reviewed
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.
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.
Southern Living
I’m looking for southern bartenders/chefs to chat with me about their favorite bourbons - email me for more info!
I’m also working on a story on wilted cilantro leaves and looking for some chefs (southern ideally) as well as food safety experts and produce experts to weigh in on that - I have specific questions here, so please don’t jump the gun and send commentary, send me an email with your credentials first and we’ll take it from there. Thanks!
Forbes
Gift guide time!
I’m looking for the best gifts for the dorm/small apartment for the person just starting out who loves to cook. We aren't all grownup amateur home cooks with kitchens to stock, we often start out living in shared small spaces or dorms and trying to develop our home cooking and meal prep routine - often with limited resources. (Hell, some of us are entering our 40s and still living like we’re 22 in a small apartment!) These are gifts for those people to enjoy this holiday season, nourishing their new favorite hobby. (When pitching - think along the lines of the best gifts for the starter kitchen)
The best gifts for the air fryer lover. For this, I’m seeking both great air fryer variations that are an upgrade from the still-great usual but also fun meal kits/ingredients/products specifically formulated to the air fryer that someone who is obsessed with their air fryer would love. Think anything from air fryer gadget to accessory to tool to cookbook for this one.
Finally, the third gift guide I’m doing for Forbes.com this season: Beefy Texas-Inspired Gifts For The Southwestern Carnivore. So, basically…do they love to travel to Texas to eat great steaks or bbq and would DIE to know they could have it shipped to their door? Do they mail order hot sauces and spice blends and chilis that are southwestern inspired for their own at home cookouts? These are the types of gifts they’d love!
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!
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!
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<3
aly