Wednesday: How to use a mind-mapping technique to target PR outreach for your less-than-exciting products/experts.
Plus: Lots of pending assignments and job leads!
Good morning!
Going to try something a wee bit different today - I’m going to do the normal free daily newsletter at the top of this post - where you’ll get the job leads and sourcing opps and everything else you get each day - and once we’re done with all that, scroll down to the bottom of this email for an optional supplemental section from my industry insights series - that premium content will be beneath a paywall, but if you are a free subscriber — that’s fine. You still get everything else, as always!
Today’s insights topic will be…mind mapping, and how to use it to pitch a topic, product, or expert that may not be all that interesting, buzzworthy or newsworthy - in a way that just may pique a journalist’s interest. Want to read more? Scroll all the way down.
But first…
Newly published today is…a lot! For Food Network: Trader Joe’s Finally Has a White Queso Dip and It Was Well Worth the Wait (and, you guys, the JOURNEY I went through to find this queso this week!), for Clean Plates: Smart Shopping: Add Ceylon Cinnamon to Your Cart, for Forbes.com: Michael Mina’s Orla Is A Beautiful Fusion Of Egyptian And Mediterranean Flavors, for Plate Magazine: Marcel Vigneron’s Cracked Potatoes Make a Case for Freezing Your Fries, and for Forbes: José Andrés To Open His First Arizona-Based Restaurant Concept.
Reminder that I’m currently 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!
Job Leads
BrandBomb PR, an award-winning boutique agency in Las Vegas specializing in entertainment, hospitality, and medical PR, is seeking a Public Relations Specialist with two to four years of experience. This role involves leading strategic PR and marketing campaigns, providing ongoing account management, liaising with social media influencers and celebrities, conceptualizing buzzworthy events and community relations initiatives, and drafting key press materials such as fact sheets, biographies and award nominations. The ideal candidate will be deadline-driven, bringing energy and enthusiasm to the team. Strong writing skills, mastery of AP style and excellent communication abilities are essential, along with creativity and expertise in crafting compelling media pitches. If you’re eager to advance your career in a growth-focused environment, please send your resume and portfolio to lindsay@brandbombpr.com.
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 Vodka, Best Gourmet Subscription Box, Best Mattress, and Best Outdoor Grill - more categories coming very soon!
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: My Mom’s Method for Cleaning Makeup Brushes Isn’t Makeup Artist-Approved (but I Still Use It!),
The Kitchn: Mindy Kaling Says This Fall Soup Is the “Best Thing” She’s Ever Cooked
Travel & Leisure: The $9 Flight Attendant-loved Hack That Changed the Way I Carry My Bags at the Airport
Apartment Therapy: I Asked a Chef to Help Me Organize My Fridge, and Here’s What He Said
Clean Plates: 8 Delicious Trader Joe’s Fall Foods That Dietitians Love
RetailMeNot: The Best Free Beauty Gifts With Purchase Deals to Shop
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
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
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.
Food Network
I’m rounding up restaurant chains offering discounts/deals/freebies in honor of Election Day. (Think along the lines of — show your ‘i voted’ sticker, get a free order of fries…stuff along those lines.) If you have anything for me, please email what restaurant chain it is, what the deal is, and how to claim it.
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!
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!)
Whew…thanks for making it this far!
Oops! did you just hit a paywall? Now’s a great time to take advantage of my 50% subscription upgrade deal!