Reading · Aly Walansky's Newsletter

So, we’re midway through August, which means basically everyone I know is right now traveling or out of the office.

With approximately half of the working population is currently on vacation, preparing to go on vacation, recovering from vacation, or simply wishing they were on vacation, our inboxes know it.

Our inboxes probably uniquely know it because every time we send an email, there it is:

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office with limited access to email and will respond upon my return.

Take the example above.

But…when are you returning?

Tomorrow? Next Tuesday? September? Have you abandoned this hot mess we live in entirely and opened a tiny beach bar in Curaçao?

(If so, I’m jealous.)

But really, I need to know whether I should wait for those interview answers or move onto someone else. Does your tiny beach bar even have wifi?

We tend to treat the out-of-office message like some boring administrative box we have to check. Turn it on. Say you’re gone. Done. But someone is receiving that message because they were trying to communicate with you.

So your OOO should actually communicate something.

That means that ideally, it should tell me when you’ll be back, whether you’re completely offline or checking messages periodically, whether someone else is handling things while you’re gone, and if someone else is handling things, please give me enough information to actually find them.

For urgent matters, please contact Jennifer.

WHO IS JENNIFER?!

Jennifer needs a last name, an email address, and you should probably also tell her she’s now in charge of your inbox. Please don’t send me on a scavenger hunt through your agency website trying to identify Jennifer while you’re drinking a frozen cocktail somewhere.

I’m tired. And I’m not on vacation. Have pity on me.

And if we’re already working together on something with a deadline that falls during your vacation, ideally, tell me before you disappear.

If you owe me interview answers Wednesday and you’re leaving Monday, a quick:

“Just FYI, I’m away next week, but Jennifer will be sending those answers over and I’ve copied her here.”

Great, I still don’t know who Jennifer is, but I really do love her now.

Seriously, your OOO should be the backup plan, not the first indication that the person holding the assets for my story has left for Ibiza.

Something mysterious happens when people activate an out-of-office message. Suddenly, every ounce of personality they’ve displayed in every previous email disappears.

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office with limited access to email and will respond upon my return.

Remember, you are a human being, and presumably you sounded like one before you went on vacation. You do not need to undergo a complete personality extraction simply because you’re currently drinking something out of a pineapple.

You can say:

I’m trading my inbox for the beach for a few days and will be back Monday, August 17.

Or:

I’m taking a few days off and attempting the radical experiment of not checking my email. Wish me luck! I’ll be back Tuesday.

Or:

I’m out until Monday and will respond when I’m back — hopefully with fewer unread emails and more freckles.

Obviously, there are limits. I don’t need your entire vacation itinerary.

The OOO with no return date.
The OOO that’s somehow still on four days after you’ve returned.
The 900-word OOO with 14 alternate contacts, but no idea of who to contact for what.
The alternate contact whose OOO immediately tells me to contact the original person.

It’s like we all live in some sort of infinite loop.

And perhaps my personal favorite:

I will have extremely limited access to email.

Followed by an email 43 seconds later:

Hi Aly! Just saw this!

GIRLFRIEND. GO BACK TO THE POOL.

Which brings me to perhaps the most important part of all of this.

PLEASE, remember that you are allowed to be unavailable. You are allowed to take a vacation without monitoring your inbox from a chaise lounge.

You are allowed to spend a long weekend with your family or friends or situationship without periodically checking whether someone has followed up on the pitch they sent you six hours ago.

And when you return, you do not need to promise that you’ll respond to every email “as soon as humanly possible.”

You don’t need to secretly clear 287 emails Sunday night so nobody discovers that you had the audacity to take PTO.

The whole point of an out-of-office message is that you are, in fact, out of the office.

It isn’t saying:

I’m terribly sorry that I briefly stopped being professionally accessible.

It’s saying: I’m not here right now. Here’s what you need to know. I’ll be back.

That’s it.

And then, for the love of Jennifer: GO BE OUT OF THE OFFICE.

May your Friday be easy, your inbox be quiet, your martini be cold, and may Jennifer handle all urgent matters.

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Upcoming travel: I’ll be in Dallas for a few days in October. If you want to try to meet up for a drink or coffee or have a client you are hoping I can check out (or general recommendations) - drop me a line! (Note: Thanks so much but where I’m staying is all set!) I’ll also BRIEFLY be in Fort Lauderdale in November (just for about 24 hours!), KYP when I know more!

Reminder: Job leads are freely shared as a service to this community, and there’ll NEVER be any charge. It’s here to help me help you, and I’ll keep it in as long as you need. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if there’s any job leads you wish me to include!

My fab friends at KLG PR are looking for a Senior Account Executive and a Account Manager who are truly passionate about PR and the world of spirits. View job details here and here and be sure to tell them you heard about the job lead in Aly Walansky’s newsletter!

Rachel Harrison Communications is looking for a few awesome PR/communications people who focus on bars, wine and spirits. If you know anyone (or if you are one) email RH@wearerhc.com. Agency experience required. Mostly director levels, supervisors, and SAE levels. Tell them Aly Walansky sent you!

Four Seasons is seeking a strategic brand and communications leader to oversee the PR and Marketing for Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane and Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire. If you are a dynamic talent in this field with experience driving meaningful results across paid, owned and earned media, follow the link here to find out more and apply for this incredible opportunity.

I still have some space available the remainder of 2026!

I would love to join your team on Zoom, a phone call, or in-person and conduct a team Q&A where I answer any of your questions about planning events, media dinners, mailers, trips, pitching, followups, etc — giving you a very necessary media perspective from someone who has been in the trenches for decades and is excited to help ease your own path. Email me at alywalansky@gmail.com if you are interested in chatting more and setting something up and we can discuss rates and details. 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.

Please follow me on the Yahoo Creators platform! I’m 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!) — and there’s lots of gift guides published there, too!

Also, can we please be friends? Be sure to follow me on Instagram while you’re at it!

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The Recipe for Press Media Directory is an essential and affordable database that targets the right magazine editors and freelance writers for pitching products and projects in food, fashion, interiors, travel, business and lifestyle. Created by former editor, Amy Flurry, the directory features emails, titles, active social media addresses, and a notes section with submission guidelines for each contact. This is why leading publicists, editors, and entrepreneurs across the country, including me, widely use and recommend it! Annual subscription price is just $195 and absolutely packed with value. Another perk of the subscription: you receive a Pitch Tip newsletter once a month highlighting the updates and newly added editors and serves as a reminder of the movement and shifts happening in the industry. This is PR gold for publicists!

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.

Exciting news from our friend Sarah Karger (who you’ve seen as the star expert panelist for several of our gift guide pitching workshops!) - she 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.

Have a client or service you think would be a fit for this section? Drop me a note at alywalansky@gmail.com anytime, I look forward to hearing from you!

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!)
Yahoo: These 23 summer essentials help me to keep cool and comfortable during seasonal heat waves
Forbes.com: Some Like It Hot: 19 Spicy Dishes To Try Immediately
Yahoo: Headed to college this year? The 25 most crucial back-to-school dorm essentials
Southern Living: I Tried Trader Joe’s New $2 Seasoning—And Now I’m Putting It On Everything
Southern Living: 5 Store-Bought Salad Dressings Chefs Always Keep In Their Kitchens
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Frequent Business Traveler, and I Found 6 Comfy Airplane Outfits That Still Look Put Together—From $8
Apartment Therapy:The 18 Best Prime Day Travel Deals, Vetted by Pro Travelers (Starting at $8!)
Travel & Leisure: This Plane Seat Cushion Is My Secret to Arriving at Destinations Pain-free
Food Network: 25 Little Treats You Can Score for Free on Your Birthday
Travel & Leisure: I Travel for Work, and These Are the 5 Genius Hacks That Save Me From Luggage Messes and Spills—From $4
Travel & Leisure: I’ve Been Solo Traveling for 25 Years—12 Mistakes That Cause the Biggest Headaches, and How to Prevent Them
Forbes.com: 20 Great Variations On The Classic Martini
Southern Living: I Tried Trader Joe’s New Marinated Mozzarella Balls—Now I’m Using Them In Nearly Every Meal
Southern Living: I’m A Travel Writer, And This Cruise Hack Gets Me An Empty Pool, No Buffet Lines, And A Better Vacation
Southern Living: I’ve Tried Every Way To Bake A Potato—This 1 Wins Every Time
Travel & Leisure: Frequent Fliers Say This Genius Hack Makes It Feel Like They’ve Upgraded Their Seat—and It’s Only $35
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Frequent Solo Traveler, and This Genius Safety Device Gives Me Peace of Mind in Every Airbnb
Yahoo: The best cooling fans of 2026, tested and reviewed
Southern Living: I’m A Travel Writer, And My Friends And I Are Obsessed With This App For Tracking Each Other’s Flights
Travel & Leisure: I Fly Around the Country for Work, and This Roomy Tote Is My No. 1 Airport Essential for Looking Put Together.
Travel & Leisure: I’m a Solo Traveler of 25 Years, and These Are the 18 Products I Swear By for Personal Safety in 2026
Travel & Leisure: Traveling Alone Can Be Expensive—Here Are 15 Budget-friendly Hacks That Save Me Money
Southern Living: The One-Pan Cheesy Meal I Make Whenever I'm Too Tired To Cook

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.

Friday: A reminder that your out-of-office responder is allowed to have some personality.

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