Reading · Aly Walansky's Newsletter

I know.

It’s August.

It’s hot, you may or may not have a final vacation of summer on the books. You may still be trying to figure out what happened to June.

But there I am, your favorite lovable but annoying blonde, here walking into your inbox carrying a Christmas tree.

🎄

Sorry, guys, but it’s time. We need to start thinking and talking about holiday gift guides.

Actually, we’re going to be talking about holiday gift guides a lot over the next few months, and I have like a 20-part series planned right here, so pull up a chair and get comfortable and get ready for Aly’s Holiday Gift Guide Countdown as a recurring series. By December, we will have built an entire graduate-level course at this rate.

It’s not going to be every day, I promise. I’m not turning this newsletter into the gift guide version of Hallmark holiday romance season. Which, actually, sort of starts in July. So, they still win.

But at least once a week or so, we’re going to tackle another piece of the holiday gift guide pitching puzzle, and there’ll be some fun special surprises along the way. We’ll talk about what makes something actually gift-guide-worthy. We’ll talk about subject lines. We’ll talk about pitching an angle instead of just a product. We’ll talk about price points and retailer links and availability. We’ll talk about photos. OH, WILL WE TALK ABOUT PHOTOS. We’ll talk about samples and mailers and timelines. We’ll talk about follow-ups. We’ll talk about what happens after the guide publishes and whether you should email the writer asking them to swap the image, change the copy, use a different retailer or add your product to a guide you weren’t originally included in.

But before we can talk about any of that, we have to start with perhaps the most important holiday gift guide lesson of all:

To a normal human being, August is not Christmas.

To a journalist, August can absolutely be Christmas.

Some long-lead publications have been thinking about holiday coverage for quite some time already. Other writers are just beginning to build their lists. Some digital outlets won’t get serious about holiday gift guides until next month or so.

but freelancers — hi! 👋 — may be working across outlets with completely different timelines simultaneously, which means there is no magical date when someone rings a bell and announces:

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PITCHING HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN.

The window is more like a very long sliding door.

And parts of it are already open.

This is where I think a lot of holiday pitching goes sideways.

The consumer or the reader may not start thinking:

What am I getting Mom for Christmas?

until November.

But the story telling that consumer what to get Mom might have been assigned in August or pitched in September or filed in October.

PR works on the editorial calendar, not the consumer calendar.

That distinction matters enormously.

Because waiting until something feels seasonally appropriate to pitch it may mean waiting until the opportunity is already gone.

This is also not me telling you to spend tomorrow morning blasting every journalist you’ve ever met with:

🎄🎁 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE IDEA!!!!! 🎁🎄

Please don’t make me regret writing this newsletter.

Starting early means starting strategically. Look at the outlets you’re pitching. Look at what they published last year. Think about whether they’re print, digital or both. Think about whether you’re pitching staff writers, commerce editors or freelancers.

Pay attention when journalists post calls for holiday pitches.

And, whenever possible, understand what that particular person actually covers before deciding your artisanal dog-shaped butter dish is exactly what their readers need for Christmas.

(Although, to be clear, I would like to see the dog-shaped butter dish.)

One of the most useful questions you can ask a journalist right now is incredibly simple:

Are you working on holiday gift guides yet?

Or:

Do you know when you’ll begin accepting holiday gift guide pitches?

That is useful information!

You don’t have to manufacture urgency where none exists. You don’t have to guess. And you definitely don’t have to send the same pitch every two weeks from August through December hoping eventually you hit the correct moment.

Find out what someone’s timeline looks like.

Then work with it.

Because we’re going to spend the next few months getting much more granular.

What belongs in the pitch?

What makes a product stand out when a writer is receiving hundreds of submissions?

What information should be available immediately?

When should you offer a sample?

How do you pitch the same product differently for different guides?

When is it appropriate to follow up?

What do you do when inventory changes?

And what happens when the guide goes live?

We’re going to get into all of it.

My hope is that by the time we’re deep into actual holiday season, nobody reading this newsletter is panic-emailing a journalist on December 19 (my birthday, btw, for those who care!) with:

LAST-MINUTE STOCKING STUFFER — PERFECT FOR YOUR HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!!!

while the journalist is already drinking eggnog and writing Valentine’s Day content.

Start looking.

Look at the outlets you want to be in. Look at last year’s gift guides. Look at the categories they covered. Look at who wrote them. Look at when they published. Look at what kinds of products made the cut.

And start thinking about where your product genuinely belongs — not simply where you’d like to see it. You don’t necessarily need to pitch everyone tomorrow.

But you absolutely should know who you’re going to pitch, what you’re going to pitch them, and why.

Because yes, I know.

It’s August.

But somewhere, right now, a journalist has already opened a holiday gift guide spreadsheet. I know I have.

And you probably want to be on it.

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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!

Lou Hammond Group is hiring a Vice President (9+ years) in NYC and Atlanta, and a Senior Account Executive (4+ years) in NYC, Atlanta and Denver. The agency has a strong focus in travel, working with domestic and international destinations, cruise lines, hotels, attractions, economic development, and real estate. Agency experience, either working in an agency or managing agencies, is required. If you or someone you know is interested, please email careers@louhammond.com.

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 take a second to 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!

Stop checking 12 platforms for journalist requests. Check one instead. Tired of going through a million different emails and platforms to field
calls for pitches from journalists? Check out today’s sponsor, Newshook. It scans HARO, Source of Sources, SourceBottle, MentionMatch, X, Reddit,
Bluesky, Substack, LinkedIn, Featured and reader callouts from major
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time — so you can keep up and pitch the best ones. Newshook goes beyond keyword alerts: the AI reads the full context of each
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Bloomberg, BBC, The New York Times, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue,
GQ, Cosmopolitan, WIRED, People and Newsweek — and hundreds more.

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.

Tuesday: Yes, we need to start talking about holiday gift guides

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