Join me on a live call tomorrow!

Feb 6 is the last day to Ask Me Anything for a few months

Hi friends,

This weekend, I cleaned out my inbox and deleted hundreds of messages, which felt fantastic. Freelancers like me aren’t paid for the countless hours we spend sifting through emails, responding to publicist inquiries, attending destination dinners, or meeting for virtual coffee, so we often don’t even respond. I’m hearing from publicists that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get the undivided attention of the writers they want to work with, which is why I’m offering a solution - an Ask Me Anything live Q&A call tomorrow.

I have a quick press trip next weekend, then family travel, then a full month in Asia, then another family trip. As such, it’s highly unlikely I’ll have time for much email correspondence the next few months, so tomorrow is the last time to get my undivided attention.

I’ve already received many great questions for those who have registered. Here’s what’s going to be discussed (so far):

• pitching strategies & who’s still accepting pitches given layoffs

• good and bad 2025 trends

• the rise of sponsored content and how to be part of it

• affiliate marketing

• how to help writers experience a destination without visiting

• how will the new administration affect outbound travel

• how can small destinations without a budget compete with the big dogs

Because it’s an Ask Me Anything, you can also ask about the stinky corpse flower in the pic above, which bloomed at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden last weekend. :)

Hope to see you tomorrow!

Cassandra

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Ask Me Anything Live Q&A

These Ask Me Anything live Q&A sessions are, arguably, the most valuable benefit of having a paid subscription to my newsletter. In addition to learning more about WHY these publications are discontinuing their work with freelancers, you’ll also learn WHAT you can do about it, including some creative ways to get your brand/product prime placement in articles.

Because this is an Ask Me ANYTHING, you can ask me about SEO, how to plan an amazing product showcase, press trip, or a successful destination dinner. Have you struggled to get a response from the 40 editors/writers to whom you sent what you thought to be a perfect pitch? You’re welcome to share that on the call and get live feedback. Considering I got about 40 pitches within an hour of announcing my National Geographic pitch call last week (and countless more since then), I can even offer some (anonymous) examples of good and bad pitching.

Date: February 6th, 10 am PST/1:00 pm ET

Pricing:

FREE with a paid subscription (which is only $9 for the month, or $70 for the year). If you prefer to buy a ticket outside the Substack platform, it only costs $20 per ticket or $15/person for agencies with multiple attendees (email me if you want to go this route).

RSVP at the link below the paywall, and you’ll receive a link to Thursday’s Zoom call. You can also drop questions in the RSVP form.

Wondering what these calls are like? Here’s what previous attendees have to say:

“I appreciate Cassandra’s time and the opportunity to hear directly what she’s looking for and get her feedback. I think it’s invaluable for us get have this access and get to know the writer and other publicists better.”

- Kristen Montag, Senior PR & communication manager, Meet Minneapolis

“I joined my first AMA with Cassandra today and loved the intimate feel and engaging discussion on a variety of topics. I took away a lot from the conversation – not only Cassandra’s insights but also hearing from fellow publicists. This definitely felt more productive to me than the larger group calls. No shade on them, they have value too, but this almost felt like a workshop or deskside. I am looking forward to the next one.

- Jennifer Sweeney, Principal, Jennifer Sweeney Communications

“Great to tune in today — thanks for indulging my questions! It was fascinating learning more about your work and process.”

– Selena Taylor, writer/photographer

Register Now.

I’ll be in Asia all of March, so this is the last Ask Me Anything call I’ll be holding for at least two months. If you want in, here’s how to register: