Happy July, everyone!
I leave for Iceland/Greenland in about 10 days and will be taking the rest of the month (and into early August) off … I cannot wait to escape the Phoenix heat with this cool-cation. It’s 113 here all week, no big deal.
But before I skedaddle, I have several assignments that need to be sourced and written, so let’s jump on that!
And if you missed my viral Yahoo article about my Virgin Voyages cruise and what it’s really like to sail with this revolutionary brand, please check it out!
Have a great rest of your week,
Jill
PS: If you haven’t yet taken the time to follow me on Yahoo, I’d REALLY appreciate the support … plus, it’ll give you a better idea of the types of stories you can pitch for! 👉 Follow me on Yahoo here: https://creators.yahoo.com/brands/jill-schildhouse/. And then send me some pitches!
PS: Always looking for pitches for my Forbes stories, too. I cover all things travel here.
Does this sound familiar?
You’re firing off pitches, chasing media opportunities, and doing everything by the book—but it’s just not working.
🚨 Your pitches are getting ignored.
🚨 You’re not landing the coverage your clients deserve.
🚨 You’re questioning the entire industry and your future in it.
🚨 The media contacts you spent years building? Laid off.
🚨 Writers and editors? Overwhelmed and not responding as often.
🚨 Your emails? Just more noise in flooded inboxes.
The old-school PR playbook doesn’t work anymore. It’s time to adapt, pivot, and re-strategize.
That’s exactly what I help publicists do.
And I just opened up two spots to work privately with those who want to:
✅ Skyrocket pitch open rates, so your emails don’t vanish into the void
✅ Build real and long-lasting relationships with journalists that make coverage easier for years to come
✅ Improve ROI on in-person and virtual events, press samples, and press trips
✅ Create angles and hooks that make your clients’ stories impossible to ignore
✅ Nail your clients’ competitive edge — so they stand out as the only choice
✅ Navigate today’s shifting media landscape with confidence
We’ll work together over the next few months to get you serious results—quickly.
Simply email me at JillSchildhouse@gmail.com and I’ll send you more info.
Do you have a course, book, conference, event, tool or service that you’d like to promote to the 7,900+ publicists and writers who subscribe to my newsletter?
Humble brag alert: My average open rate is 45%, so this is a highly engaged audience (PS: that open rate is MORE THAN DOUBLE what’s considered “good” for marketing!).
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Dining Out Phoenix: Prime Steak House, the Best Restaurant You’ve Never Heard Of
Dining Out Phoenix: Inside the Ra Ra Room, Phoenix’s Most Exclusive Dinner Destination
Dining Out Phoenix: Meet the Phoenix Area Restaurants the Industry is Buzzing About Right Now
Reader’s Digest: 13 Solo Travel Destinations in the U.S. for the Perfect Trip That’s All About You
Reader’s Digest: These Are the Cleanest and Dirtiest Cruise Ships, According to the CDC
Forbes: Cruise Lines Cancel Egypt Sailings As Travel Advisors And Passengers React
Reader’s Digest: Packing Sudoku Is the Genius Trick for Traveling in Style Without Overpacking—Here’s How to Make It Work for You
Reader’s Digest: There’s a New Way to Ensure You Don’t Stay at a Hotel with Bedbugs—Here’s Where to Look Before You Book
Yahoo: Headed to Phoenix for spring training? I’m a native-here’s where to eat
Yahoo: I went on 13 cruises across 12 cruise lines in 2025—these are the ones I’d book again
Business Insider: I spent 85 days on cruises this year. Here are 5 travel mistakes I won’t be making in 2026.
US News & World Report: Royal Caribbean’s Star of the Seas
US News & World report: Norwegian Cruise Line’s Aqua
Eating Well: A Cardiologist and a Nutrition Researcher Share the Top 4 Frozen Foods for Heart Health
Southern Living: Your Veggie Leftovers Might Not Be As Safe As You Think—Here’s What You Need To Know
Business Insider: I visited Lisbon for the first time. Though I did a few things right, there’s a lot I wish I’d known before I left.
Business Traveler: Flight Review: British Airways 787-10 Business Class from London to Riyadh
Southern Living: This is the Vegetable I Wait All Year to Eat
US News & World Report: The 7 Best Panama Canal Cruises for Seniors
Eating Well: The #1 Activity to Boost Your Memory, According to Doctors
ShermansTravel: Why Cruising Is the Ultimate Way to Explore Asia’s Highlights
Southern Living: The Best Time To Book A Cruise For The Lowest Prices And Best Perks, According To Travel Experts
Taste of Home: I Tried the ‘Secret Sauce’ at 7 Fast-Food Restaurants to Find the Best One
Reader’s Digest: I Finally Caved and Tried the Buzzy Tech Feature on Royal Caribbean’s Latest Ship—Here’s What I Liked and Didn’t
Eating Well: Experts Say This Dairy Product May Help You Lose Visceral Fat
Reader’s Digest: Carnival Cruise Line Announces a Huge Beverage Change—And Fans Are Divided
EatingWell: The 6 Best Cereals to Help Lower Cholesterol, According to Dietitians
Forbes: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2025: First-Class Experiences For Executives
Forbes: Chasing Elite Airline Status? Make a Vacation Out of it.
Forbes: Father’s Day Gift Guide 2025: 12 Ways to Gift Quality Time Together
Forbes: How to Elevate Your Coach Class Ticket to a First Class Flight
Business Insider: I flew business class with Qantas, Singapore, and American Airlines. Here’s how they compare — and which is my favorite.
U.S. News & World Report: Cruise Weddings: How to Get Married on a Cruise Ship
U.S. News & World Report: The 7 Best Bachelor Party Cruises
The Points Guy: 8 amazing places to use points for a trip to the Caribbean
US News & World Report: Star of the Seas vs. Icon of the Seas
Reader’s Digest: Norwegian Cruise Line’s Aqua Offers All the Fun of a Megaship on a More Manageable Scale
Reader’s Digest: I’ve Been on Two of the Biggest Cruise Ships in the World—Here’s the One I Would Be Most Excited to Sail on Again
Reader’s Digest: Is This New Cruise-Tipping Trend a Huge Etiquette Faux Pas?
Reader’s Digest: This Surprising Cruise Feature Is Disappearing from Ships Around the Globe—Here’s What You Need to Know
Reader’s Digest: Carnival Cruise Line Is Suddenly Charging for These Popular Beverages—And Passengers Are Fuming
Business Insider: My mom and I went to Mexico, but her suitcase went to India. Now, there’s one travel mistake we’ll never make again.
Taste of Home: This is Why Some of Your Avocados are Stringy
Eating Well: The 7 Best Canned Foods for Cognitive Health, Recommended by Dietitians
The Points Guy: Oasis of the Seas cruise ship review: What to expect on board the original Oasis Class vessel
Oprah Daily: Feeding My Soul in the Valley of the Sun
Reader’s Digest: Don’t Make This Expensive Mistake On Your Next Cruise
Reader’s Digest: Carnival Cruise Line Is the First to Ban This Controversial Item on All Sailings
Reader’s Digest: How to Score a Cruise Upgrade—For Free!
Thrillist: How Realistic Is ‘Doctor Odyssey’?
Business Insider: I frequently visit Las Vegas between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s one of the best times to experience The Strip.
Southern Living: I’ve Been Cruising For Over 25 Years, Here Are 22 Things You’ll Be Glad You Packed
Reader’s Digest: It’s Not Your Imagination: Flights Are Getting Longer—Here’s Why
Taste of Home: Why Are There So Many Food Recalls Right Now?
Reader’s Digest: Here’s How to Tell Which Side of the Car Your Gas Tank Is on—Without Getting Out
Business Insider: I spent $50,000 on my kitchen remodel. These 5 splurges were totally worth it — but I have one expensive regret.
US News & World Report: Bucket List Cruises for Seniors
Business Traveler: What Is It Like to Fly Singapore Airlines Business Class on the A350?
AARP: Don’t Make These Mistakes on Your Visa Application (my second story about getting denied entry into Vietnam)
Reader’s Digest: Don’t Miss This Black Friday Cruise Deal to Score 75% Off a Second Guest
Reader’s Digest: What Is the 5-4-3-2-1 Packing Method, and Why Do Travel Pros Swear by It?
The Points Guy: 10 hotels with Michelin-starred restaurants — and how to use points to pay for them
Southern Living: The 8 Best Cruise Itineraries That Sail Out Of Southern Ports
Reader’s Digest: Royal Caribbean Is Raising Its Gratuity Fee—Here’s What You Need to Know
Reader’s Digest: A Swiftie’s Guide to New Orleans: 12 Things to See and Do
Reader’s Digest: The First Thing You Should Do When You Board a Cruise
US News & World Report: Utopia of the Seas: The Best Dining, Amenities and More on Royal Caribbean’s Newest Ship
AARP: A Suspected Blood Clot Landed Me in a Cruise Ship Medical Center
The Points Guy: 10 Best Asia Cruises
The Points Guy: 8 Best Australia/New Zealand Cruises
Now, it’s time to get the word out! When you and your clients share your coverage on social media, please be sure to tag my accounts: Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn (and please connect with me yourselves!).
If you find this newsletter valuable, please click the share button below and send it to your colleagues … the more, the merrier!
Share Jill Schildhouse's Call for Pitches
(Friendly reminder: if you don’t use my subject lines listed below, there’s a good chance your email won’t populate when I search my inbox and your pitch will be lost in the void)
I’m rounding up products that are made in Arizona … food/drink, soaps, candles, wine, clothing, etc. Anything that's packaged and available for retail sale is game!
Please send info on the brand, products, where locals can buy them, etc. Also include a link to images (no attachments).
Subject line: Arizona-Made Product
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
Email by: July 10
Looking for resort properties in the U.S. that offer year-round activities … including a very robust summer program. Think: taking the ski chair lifts to zip lining/ropes courses, archery, horseback riding, cookouts, boating, jet skis, mini golf, etc.
Please send all the details + a link to photos (no attachments)
Subject line: Summer Ski Resort
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
Email by: July 10
Looking for a home safety expert to share tips on how to get your home vacation-ready before leaving town, to avoid break-ins, porch pirates, tech you should install, etc.
Please send credentials; I’ll send specific questions to my chosen experts
Subject line: Summer Home Safety
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
Email by: July 10
I’m rounding up the best spa treatments in Scottsdale … think: use of indigenous rituals or ingredients, unique treatments you can’t get anywhere else in the state, insanely luxurious VIP services, etc.
Please send a pitch + a link to images (no attachments)
Subject line: Scottsdale Spa Treatments
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
Email by: July 10
I’m often in need of U.S.-based flight attendants for expert sources in my articles … would love to add to my meager roster!
Subject line: Flight attendant
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
These guides are sponsored and priced very affordably since the total cost is split among a group of brands. I have limited slots—if you want info on fees and deliverables, send an email with the subject line listed below (do not reply to this email!)
Current available topics include: 1. THINGS TO PACK FOR A COLD-WEATHER CRUISE
I’m looking for everything from gadgets and luggage to things for your cabin and excursions. Things like (but not limited to):
Daypacks/backpacks/luggage
Binoculars
Cameras
Lounge sets
Travel blankets
Clothing/footwear/accessories
Travel games
Subject line: Yahoo Father’s Day Gift Guide
Email: JillSchildhouse@gmail.com
Deadline: July 17
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