Wednesday: Why sticking to email when pitching is in your best interest + LAST DAY to take advantage of my 50% off February promotion

Also: There's still time to register for our upcoming AMA Mother’s Day Gift Guide Zoom Event

Good morning!

I attended what I consider pretty much the perfect event last night. You may recall that a few months back, I wrote a story for Forbes about Tony Bennett’s favorite pasta dish at a legendary Astoria spot.

Well, last night, I had the opportunity to visit that restaurant and take a private cooking class in the kitchen with the chef - and then join the team for dinner, dining on what we had just created. We made ravioli and gnocchi and so much other yumminess and I had the best time.

It’s as I always say - anyone can have a cocktail party or open house. But it’s those truly unique, experiential events and experiences that truly make a lasting impression.

Speaking of making the right impressions..

Recently, I missed a call from an unknown number. This is not unusual for me, as I get dozens of calls from unknown numbers each day — I hardly ever answer them, as once you’ve been harassed by phone scammers, you do your best to avoid answering the phone pretty much ever when you don’t know who is calling.

What is unique about this particular call though is that within less than a minute after, it was followed up by a LENGTHY text message pitching me. While the pitch itself read as kind of spammy, even if it had been a great pitch, this method was not the way to go.

OK, that video is not the reason not to call/text a pitch, but something to keep in mind…maintaining the intended method of communication and not veering off.

The reason I prefer email pitches is not just me wanting to maintain control of the situation. (Trust me, I get hundreds of emails each day, it’s not that I’m desperate for more email, either.)

My process when I receive a pitch — any pitch — is to file it in my GMail inbox. Maybe you are pitching me about plant-based cheese today and it’s not a fit for anything I’m working on. But next week…I might get an assignment on plant-based cheese, search my inbox for the phrase “plant-based cheese” and find your pitch and reach out to you.

If you had called me, texted me, DM’d me, or sent me a tweet…searching my inbox would not help me and I’d not be able to consider your pitch. It’s in YOUR best interest to send everything to an email.

Hope that explains it! Help me help you and we all win :)

Register for our AMA Mother’s Day Gift Guide Zoom Event Now!

You may remember that during the most recent gift guide season, Alice Dubin and I teamed up for a AMA Zoom session covering all things Valentine’s gift guide pitching — and so much more. That AMA registration list reached capacity in just a few hours and ended up being great fun — and a packed house.

We teased at the time we’d want to do it again soon and now we are! We’re teaming up on March 13, 2024 at 11 am PT/2 pm ET via Zoom for our next AMA session (focused on pitching for Mother’s Day gift guides!) and we’d love to invite anyone who is a paid subscriber of either of our newsletters. While this session will focus on all aspects of gift guide pitching, you are also welcome to ask questions about anything else — the sky’s the limit!

Want to take part? Find the registration link under the paywall at the bottom of this email!

Gift guide season is almost upon us again - we hope we can help each other be as prepared as possible!

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY to take part of my February promotion of 50% off paid subscriptions. This is the biggest discount I’ve ever done and is good on either annual or monthly subscriptions — meaning that upgrading and getting the value of AMAs and industry insights emails and all the other subscriber benefits will now cost you roughly as much as a monthly cup of coffee, as my Valentine’s Day gift to you!

Check out my appearance last week 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 Pasta Queen’s Coveted Pasta Sauces Are Now A Grocery Jaunt Away

• RetailMeNot: How to Save on Groceries: Tips That Actually Work

• RetailMeNot: Meal Prepping Products That Are Actually WORTH It

• Food Network: How to get a free doughnut if you were impacted by the cellular network outage

• Forbes.com: Wonder Brings Celebrity Chef Cooking To Home Dining Rooms

• 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.

RetailMeNot

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.

I’m rounding up the Best Easter Sales that Shouldn't Be Missed for 2024. I’m open to sales that aren’t necessarily billed as "Easter Sales" – there are going to be a ton of spring sales going on, too. So, really anything that helps you get Easter Basket stuffers, clothes, table decor, spring decor or whatever else for Easter is fair game. I’m trying to include these specific retailers - Target, CVS, Walmart, Michaels, Macy's, Kohl's, Carter's, but I’m open to others as well. Please remember to include the following in your pitch: When Do Easter Sales Start?, timing of Easter sales (when they begin, when the last-minute deals start, etc.), what is included in the sales, how to claim the deals, and so forth.

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 order of Purim or St. Patrick’s Day? I’m working on roundups for both these holidays. 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 1 for this one.

March is National Sleep Awareness Month and World Sleep Day is March 17, so I’m rounding up cocktails that can help you sleep…perhaps specific sleepytime ingredients or flavors? If your bar/restaurant has a potential fit, please email me with 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.