Wednesday: On the road again + new pending assignments!

Good morning!

Today has been already one of those fun mornings at LGA where I’ve gotten something like three gate changes in under an hour — on opposite ends of the terminal each time. Thankfully, I have my go-to oat milk cold brew to power me through! (Plus: Yay for unexpected AM cardio?)

But no worries, in a few hours I’ll be in Kansas City (for the first time!), and have a pretty fun itinerary in store — and lots of good eats and cocktailing planned to write about. (Thanks, also, for all the suggestions you sent my way!)

Speaking of food, went to the MOST fun press event last night (that was even oddly punctuated by a tornado…in New York City…)…it was a turkey skills workshop and I had the MOST fun. We did taste testing and carving skills building and made stuffing and gravy and rubs and then did a family style friendsgiving dinner — yes, in July!

Aly Walansky

Aly Walansky on Instagram: “Had the most fun at a @diestelfamilyranch turkey workshop this afternoon, where I primed my carving, stuffing and gravy skills and took part in a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with friends - in the middle of a July tornado! All in a day’s work.”

July 26, 2023

When I do my consulting sessions, the topic of press events comes up OFTEN, and I always say the same thing — a straightforward cocktail party with passed canapes is always going to be a harder sell than an event that is unique and fun and different and interactive. I may get a few dozen event invites in a week, but I normally only say yes to one or two. And while, yes, factors like the subject area and scheduling and transportation concerns are always big considerations, it being something that is just fun and interesting and educational or aspirational or unique goes a LONG way — and this was, quite honestly, one of the nicest events I’ve been to this summer.

In other fun news, some stories I’ve been working on published in the last day or so. For Forbes, check out my interview with Nobu Matsuhisa about his exciting returning sushi spot at sea, and for Food Network, I wrote about the sweet and tangy candy collab NO ONE saw coming.

I have a big feature coming out for Parade very soon - about my favorite bagels around NYC (obviously the story I was born to write), and I just was curious - what is YOUR favorite bagel? And how do you enjoy it? (Personally, I’m a poppy with smoked salmon and a bit of red onion and a LIGHT smear of scallion cream cheese.) This isn’t for the story, it’s already written, I’m just curious and trying to get to know each other a little better.

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!

PS: I love doing podcasts! Check out my guest appearance on Media Circus Podcast with Taiisha Bradley last week, as well as the Italian Wine Podcast recently, where we discussed all things Substack. Other recent podcast appearances include the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ podcast with the incredible (and super fun!) Lexie Smith, where we chatted about everything from press dinners and events and trips to, well, sippin’! I’ve recorded a few others that should be live soon as well and I’m always open to doing more — email me at alywalansky@gmail.com.

• Food Network: Mustard Skittles Will Take You on a Confusing-Yet-Somehow-Makes-Perfect-Sense Flavor Journey

• Forbes.com: Fine Dining At Sea Gets An Upgrade With The Return Of Nobu Matsuhisa’s Umi Uma

• Forbes.com: 15 Cocktails To Enjoy On National Spritz Day

• Forbes.com: 7 Fun Dishes To Enjoy On National Avocado Day

• Popsugar: What to Know About Bananas' Carb Content

• Travel & Leisure: Mosquitoes Love Me, and This Is the Surprising Gadget I Swear by to Get Instant Bug Bite Relief

• RetailMeNot: 65+ College Student Discounts

• Forbes.com: 30 Cocktails To Enjoy When Celebrating National Tequila Day

• Clean Plates: Is Cottage Cheese Healthy? We Asked The Experts

• Clean Plates: The Best Trader Joe’s Items for Easy, Healthy Summer Entertaining

  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.

Clean Plates

Alkaline water is all over TIkTok lately and is the latest health trend — but really what is it, and does it have any value? Is there truly a point to it? Is there anyone better off avoiding it? Alkaline water is known to be a bit less acidic than regular drinking water and contains alkaline minerals, but really, are we that worried about the acid level of our water? Would love some experts to weigh in on this one! (Medical, credentialed, unaffiliated is ideal here.

RetailMeNot

I’m getting started working to update my Labor Day Store Hours roundup piece from last year. Please check the link and if you were a chain mentioned, please email me and tell me if your hours for that day are the same or need to be modified from last year’s info. (And if you are another chain with Labor Day store hours info, please do send! Thanks!)

Forbes

I’m rounding up great creative/unique dishes/drinks in honor of National Oyster Day, which are all in the next few weeks. Please only pitch me when you have all the components (Try to think of it this way: Emailing me without the, say, image or quote, is the same as not emailing me at all.)

• Name of dish/drink

• where available (city, state, name of restaurant — it MUST be on a bar/restaurant menu or be a special that someone can order)

• Description (a recipe is not necessary)

• Quote about dish/drink (please remember to include who is being quoted)

• LINK to image and appropriate photo credits (even better if you include those photo credits in the file name of the photo)

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!

<3