Wednesday: Many of you are making this one big mistake with photo submission, and it's preventing you from being included in my stories...
PS: Don't miss out: The completely FREE recording of last month's Zoom webinar event covering pitching, trends, and all things holiday gift guide season is now available -- grab the link right here!
Good morning!
I’m back in New York and I’m exhausted, y’all.
This past week in Vegas was super fun though and I was so grateful to not only have special times with old friends but connect with so many new faces!
But now we’re in the throes of a super busy final few weeks before the holidays and there’s a heck of a lot going on. Today, I have a consulting session first thing this morning and then friends & family night at a new cocktail bar I’m super excited about tonight … in between, I (casually) need to write about three stories. NBD.
We all are painfully aware that gift guide season is wrapping up soon, but I’m still working on and updating a few gift guides. I have published many gift guides in the past few weeks including a few more just YESTERDAY. Here’s a quick rundown. Be sure to check if your clients are included, and I super appreciate any social shares and tags if they were:
From steaks to lobster, 15 culinary gifts perfect for the foodie this holiday season
From latkes to chocolate gelt, these Hanukkah gifts will be at the top of their wishlist this season
From gadgets to skincare: The ultimate guide to holiday gifts for the special guy in your life
The best tech gifts to impress the gadget fan in your life this holiday
From packing cubes to toiletry bags, these are the 15 best gifts for travelers this holiday
These Less Well-Known Spirits Are The Gifts Your Drinking Friends Actually Want This Season
The 10 best cookbooks to give the aspiring chef in your life as a gift this holiday season
Note, some of these are still being updated, so if you have a gift you want to pitch in one of these above categories, there’s still a chance — plus many other pending gift guides below! (And a reminder that sourcing for Valentine’s Day gift guide content is going to start REALLY soon!)
But that’s not all. There’s also a lot of other new non-gift guide related content recently published as well. Scroll down to the recently published content section to see that!
Now, to today’s topic: What’s the one thing many of you are doing wrong that is getting in the way of me including you in my gift guides, cocktail/dish roundups, and other content? It’s an issue with how you are submitting photos and it’s a big one…
Scroll to the bottom of today’s email for more!
Book your consulting session!
I still have some space available for December!
I can join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and do a team Q&A and answer any of your questions about planning events, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up :)
We can switch it up in any way you or your team needs. While most of my calls do end up being virtual, I just did one where we did our session over a martini lunch! I’m available for whatever your team prefers. Lets chat.
I’m now contributing to the Yahoo Creators platform, writing a wide range of lifestyles topics: check out my author profile to see some of my most recent pieces! (This is updated daily - usually multiple times daily - so you’ll want to keep checking it out for new content!)
Limited-time deal on ad placement!
I’m offering a seasonal special on advertising in this newsletter. I’d love to place your sponsored posts and advertising in this Substack, which goes out to more than 10,000 media professionals every single day.
Note: I do limit advertising to only what would be of interest to my readers, but am open to both short paragraph blurbs and dedicated posts - if you are interested in chatting details and scheduling something, please email me at alywalansky@gmail.com today!
Tools of the trade
Thanks so much to everyone who attended my Pitchcraft panel last week on everything to you need to know about Yahoo creators. We covered a ton of ground and Pitchcraft will actually be sharing a replay — but it’s only available to members.
Luckily, I’m excited to share I partnered with Pitchcraft to be able to share a special offer just for my readers: Use code ALY200: new users will get $200 off their first month of the monthly PR Membership or code ALY400: This one offers new users $400 off their first year of the annual PR Membership.
This is a great network to join because it’s a community of both PR professionals and journalists working together to find better ways to work together and share opportunities, and you know how much I believe in all of that.
Absolutely check it out!
Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who recently was a star expert panelist for our big holiday gift guide pitching workshop!) - she just launched her new course, Affiliate Marketing & Performance-Based PR for Publicists - It’s built specifically to help PR pros and agencies add affiliate management as a core capability, something we all know is completely essential in today’s media landscape. This is in-depth training that equips publicists with the exact strategies to:
Set up affiliate programs for clients
Pitch commerce editors with confidence
Deliver measurable ROI through performance-based PR
It’s a must-have for anyone trying to navigate this ever-changing biz!
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.
Yahoo Creators: Check out my author profile (I have several new stories a day across the lifestyles umbrella, so that’s the best way to stay updated!)
Forbes.com: Brooklyn’s Hot New Cocktail Bar Has A Star Chef At Its Helm
Forbes.com 7 Hanukkah Cocktails For Spirited Toasting During The Festival Of Lights
Parade.com: How to Use an Air Fryer (Beginner’s Guide) - Parade
Apartment Therapy: My Packing Trick Helps Me Pack Perfectly Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Travel & Leisure: A Travel Writer’s $8 Amazon Packing Hack for Shoes
Apartment Therapy: What Pro Travelers Never Pack in Their Carry-On Bag
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and I Swear by These Packable Ballet Flats for Comfort, Support, and Long Days on My Feet
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
We asked southern chefs, what were their favorite dishes they had this year?. I’m basically asking chefs to weigh in on: The Best Thing These Southern Chefs Ate This Year - tell me what it was, and why it was so memorable!
Yahoo Creators
I’m working on a few holiday gift guides!
I’m seeking:
Frilly/girlie gift ideas (think cute, pink, lacey, girlie, frilly, sexy, fun, lingerie, underthings, etc)
gifts for your man
home/kitchen related gifts
Tech/gadget/iPhone-related gifts
Travel gifts
To pitch me for these guides, please be sure to include the following:
Name of item
Links to major retailers where sold (it’s in your best interest to include several retailer link options when pitching, especially major ones like Amazon)
Link to image and any necessary credits
Description why it’s a fit
Item must be currently available and currently in stock. Be sure to start a new email thread and be clear in the subject line what specific gift guide(s) you are pitching. Just replying to this email is a great way to get your pitch buried in a heap - we don’t want that!
Before pitching: Please be sure to refer to my photo submission guidelines for help with photo submission best practices!
Forbes
I’m looking for Hanukkah, Christmas, or holiday-inspired cocktails available at bars/restaurants.
For all my cocktail pieces, the format for pitching remains:
Name of cocktail
Where served, city, state, URL
LINK to image of the drink and photo credit
description (NOT a recipe) of drink, and quote about drink, with appropriate credit.
My birthday is next week and I’m updating my Forbes.com story on fun birthday-themed cocktails available at bars and restaurants. Let me know if you have anything fun I should include!
Thanks!
Today, I wanted to touch on something that comes up often – from shopping stories to cocktail stories and galleries, but especially in product roundups and gift guides.
This is the process of submitting photos.