Wednesday: Today is our Mother’s Day Gift Guide AMA Zoom Event! + today's productivity tip.
Good morning!
First of all, a huge thanks to everyone who rose to the occasion and pitched for those quick-turnaround assignments I was sourcing for in Monday’s newsletter. There were three stories I was trying to turn around in roughly 24 hours and I’m happy to say they all are now completed and submitted. Moving on!
(And if you missed out…don’t worry! New pending opps are below…just scroll down…!)
Today is Zoom AMA Day!
Just some housekeeping: Today at 11 am PT/2 pm ET is our exciting Mother’s Day Gift Guide AMA Zoom Event. Joining me as co-host will be dear friend and badass journalist Alice Dubin.
Everyone who RSVP’d should have received an email Monday afternoon with confirmation details and the Zoom link. If you did not, please drop me a note and we’ll get you squared away before event time. (Reminder: You must be a paid subscriber to either or both of our Substacks in order to attend.)
You’ve sent ahead tons of GREAT questions for today’s session and we’re so excited to dive into them all.
Gift guide season is almost upon us again - we hope we can help each other be as prepared as possible!
Today’s productivity tip
Today's productivity tip is a sensitive one, but an important one.
We all need to learn how to prioritize. We ALL have things in our lives where we may say we'd totally do that thing if we had more time. But really, when we say we don't have the time for something, we're saying it's not a priority - and that's OK. If you accept that reality, you can regain control of your schedule, because you can focus on what IS a priority.
The most important takeaway from this tip is -- it's not how much time we have in a day or a week, but how we spend that time. It may sound like apples or oranges, but it really is about taking control of your schedule and prioritizing what is a priority to you. (Now, that may not be someone else's idea of priority, but it doesn't matter. It's how you are budgeting YOUR time, not theirs.)
This is helpful also in that if you are like me, you spend a lot of time feeling like you are racing against a clock to do all the things you need to do, and fulfill all the life obligations you need to fulfill and are constantly beating yourself up because you feel like you’re simultaneously trying to please everyone but also constantly letting everyone down (trust me, I’m there. Always. Working on it). But if you decide what your priorities are, and make a point of focusing on them, life (and time, which is actually not infinite) starts to feel a lot less complicated!
Check out my appearance last week on the Behind The Media podcast, with my gal Juliana Martins. We chat about A BUNCH of stuff, such as how brands can stick out to editors in a saturated market, how I decide which events I will attend vs decline, what startups, new venues, or brands with minimal budgets can do to get media attention, PR/pitching do’s and don’ts and more…including our mutual celeb crush and some of our favorite places to eat and drink!
So honored to see Muck Rack included me in their 2024 list of top ten most popular freelance journalists. Check out the list here.
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!
Forbes.com: The Settepani Rainbow Cookie Croissant Offers A Fresh Spin On A Dessert Classic
Forbes.com: A Soup Made With Louis XIII Cognac May Be The Ultimate Luxury For Seafood Lovers
Forbes.com: The Pasta Queen’s Coveted Pasta Sauces Are Now A Grocery Jaunt Away
Food Network: Coffee Mate Makes the Trend Official With a New Creamer Specifically for Dirty Soda
Forbes.com: 10 Relaxing Nightcaps To Enjoy In Honor Of National Sleep Awareness Month
Forbes.com: 50 Cocktails To Enjoy On St. Patrick’s Day
RetailMeNot: Savings Star Origin Story: How I Learned to Eat Well (In NY!) On a Shoestring Budget
Best Life: 11 Things You Should Put Away When Guests Come Over, Experts Say
RetailMeNot: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work
RetailMeNot: Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Travel Writer, and This Is My Secret to Packing for a Week in a Single Carry-on Bag
Travel & Leisure: In-flight Theft Is Unfortunately a Thing, but These 12 Items Give Me Peace of Mind When I'm Traveling by Plane
RetailMeNot: 5 Superstar Ingredients for Your Meal-Stretching Pantry Starter Pack
Today.com: Say goodbye to wrinkles with these expert-approved drugstore creams — starting at $12
Clean Plates: The Healthy Trader Joe’s Sauce I Use in *Everything*
Martha Stewart: 8 Storage Mistakes That Are Keeping Your Home From Being Organized
Today.com: 27 healthy fast food items at popular US chains, according to dietitians and doctors
Clean Plates: 7 Mediterranean Diet Dinner Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less
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
For Southern Living, I’m working on a story: Chives Vs. Green Onions: Are Chives Green Onions? - and I’d love a chef, plant expert, etc (ideally southern!) to weigh in and answer some questions for me. Please email me and I’ll flesh out what I’m working on. Thanks!
RetailMeNot
How to Save on Food Delivery Apps: You may have picked up that everyone is noticing that food delivery is VERY expensive. What was a lifeline during the pandemic and then a habit has become a huge budget drain for many. But the reality is — sometimes you just have to order food delivery (maybe you're sick, maybe you want the convenience factor). So what steps can you take to make sure you save the most you can? So I’m looking for expert tips (actionable) on saving money on food delivery.
I’m working on a story about my preference for growing fresh herbs in my home rather than spending grocery budget on herbs at the grocery store (which can get pricey and also have a short shelf life). The caveat here is that this is a story geared not towards those who have gardens or outdoor space but those maintaining herb gardens within small apartment kitchens - I’m writing this essay format, so my own experiences, but open to items shoppable online at major retailers to help make a small apartment herb garden prosper.
Budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter: As you all know, I write a lot of content for RMN related to budget shopping and cooking/eating smarter. I’m going to be working on a monthly column on the subject of cooking/eating well on a budget, and I’d love you to pitch me products/ideas to consider for it - maybe a new meal-stretching product that is a good deal at a grocery store, an awesome product to try that may cut my meal prep time in half, other themes as far as saving money on food/cooking/eating and doing it in a way that is smarter.
Forbes
Are any bars/restaurants planning a fun cocktail in honor of Purim? If you have something, please email me with the name of the cocktail, a description (not a recipe), a quote from the bartender or chef, and an image. (And please remember to consult my nifty photo guidelines here.) Please pitch me by March 15 for this one. Reminder: The cocktail MUST exist on a menu at a restaurant or bar either permanently or as a special.
I’m also looking for fun cocktails in honor of Easter as well as in honor of the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse - same parameters as above!
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’m available for PR team virtual meetings to answer questions about pitching, events, and trips from a media perspective. Note: I’m also available to travel for consulting sessions as long as travel expenses are covered. We can chat! This is available for entire agencies or smaller group lunch and learn type concepts.
<3
aly