How to Become a Local Guide

If you’ve been on Airbnb lately, you’ve probably noticed their new(ish) guidebooks.

I’m specifically talking about their “local guides” that they recommend hosts make. 

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, chances are you have been to Airbnbs where the hosts provide a 3 ring binder with recommendations to bars, restaurants and parks.

We’re going to do that, but online, for three reasons:

1. Creating a guide on what to do in your area gets prospective guests excited. Excited guests create checkout button clicks.

2. An online local guide will help with SEO.

3. Having local guides helps create social media content that drives website visits.

Here are the steps to creating a local guide:

Step 1: Be your customer

Step 2: Poll your customers

Step 3: Write

Step 4: Post

Step 5: Promote

Step 1: Be Your Customer

You probably bought your short term rental because you liked the area it was in.

Since then, you've probably found your favorite things to do in the area.

Think of those things.

Here's what to do with that information:

Create a spreadsheet and note everything you like to do under three buckets:

1. Bars and Restaurants.

2. Activities.

3. Places to visit.

Get as specific as you can. For example:

• List the hiking trails you love (activities).

• Write down the best beaches by name (places to visit).

• Include your top restaurants and go to food item (bars and restaurants).

The more you list, the easier the ideation process will be later on.

Step 2: Poll Your Customers

Figure out what guests did during their stay by sending them a post-stay message.

Here is a simple template you can use:

Make sure you write down all their answers in the same spreadsheet.

Once you send enough of these follow up messages, you will start to see commonalities. The goal is to figure out the top things guests like to do during their visit.

Here’s what to do with that information.

Step 3: Write

Take the commonalities between your list and the guests responses. If you like the thing that 3 of your guests said they liked, chances are people like that thing.

Take one of the top five most popular things to do from your spreadsheet and open a Word or Google Doc.

Now we write.

Below is a step by step process on how to write a local guide

I’m going to use Yellowstone National Park as my topic example. (Places to visit).

First I’m going to open up a separate browser and just type in “Things to do in Yellowstone National Park”. I should see links like:

“5 best things to do in Yellowstone National Park”, “10 must sees in Yellowstone National Park”, and other guides.

Next, I’ll take a look at these guides and see what they recommend doing. 

Chances are, they are very broad and alike. I am not going to do the same thing because I am a unique little butterfly.

Plus, someone has already done it.

Now, I will list out my personal favorite things to do in Yellowstone. (Hiking).

Finally, I will complete the local guide by completing three steps:

1. Write an introduction that explains why I chose those specific things.

2. Write 2-3 paragraphs for each thing.

3. Write a closing summary at the bottom of the guide.

Now decide on a title. This is going to be the thing that intrigues people looking for a hiking guide in Yellowstone. Here are some creative angles I could take:

• The 10 best hikes at Yellowstone National Park - that no one talks about.

• 10 hikes to do at Yellowstone National Park in 4 hours or less.

• 10 best hikes to do at Yellowstone National Park with kids.

For example if my guide is titled, “10 best hikes to do at Yellowstone National Park with kids,” My rental should be suitable for families.

Step 4: Post

For each local guide, you should be able to create at least 5 social media posts.

This is easy. The ideation process is already done. You just wrote about it.

Here's how to turn your written guide into visual social media content:

Do the things you are writing about and capture the experience.

For example, my STR is in northern Wisconsin. People come to my area to:

• Kayak down the nearby river.

• Fish for Musky.

• Explore the 300+ miles of mountain bike trails we have.

I could create content for the whole summer by doing each activity once. All I would need to do is take out my camera during different moments of the experience.

Then it's rinse and repeat for each guide.

Step 5: Promote

If someone wrote an article about your short term rental, wouldn’t you like to know about it?

For each local guide, go out and tell that business or organization about what you created. 

If you’re worried about what they will think, here are the best and worst case scenarios that can happen.

Best case scenario: They are so thrilled that both parties agree to set up a referral partnership and they send you business.

Worst case scenario: They ask you to take it down.

The pros outweigh the cons a million to one.

Let them know about your guide.

Local guide summary:

I recommend completing five blogs for your website before doing anything else.

From there, you can easily expand on the core guides.

For example: If you wrote a guide for a national park, write another on the same national park for a different demographic.

If you wrote a guide about the best mountain biking trails, write another one but for beginners. 

To create local guides follow these steps:

Step 1: Be Your Customer – What do you do in the area.

Step 2: Poll Your Guests – What do your guests do in the area.

Step 3: Write – Write about the most common answers.

Step 4: Post – Talk about your guide on social media.

Step 5: Promote – Tell the people you wrote the guide about.

That’s all for today. I’ll see you in the next article.