Apply to be featured in our Shop Local: Holiday Gift Cards in and around Asheville. We’re looking to feature both in-store shops, online stores, and service based businesses based in Asheville and up to 1 hour away (online stores can be based anywhere in Western North Carolina) that offer gift cards!

There are 9 spots available in this guide and they are offered on a first come, first served basis.

UPDATE: This guide will be posted on Travel Guides Asheville’s Instagram & website on November 24, 2023.

*Applications close Wednesday, November 22nd at 11:55pm.

*One-Time Payment of $350 is due within 24 hours of approval to guarantee your spot.

How It Works:

1. Once you submit your application you will receive approval (or disapproval) via the email you provide on your application within 24 hours of your submission.

2. Upon approval you will receive a link within your approval email to purchase your business’s spot in the guide.

3. You must purchase your spot (a one-time fee of $350) to be included in this guide within 24 hours of receiving your approval email. Your payment guarantees your spot!

4. Our “Shop Local: Holiday Gift Cards in and around Asheville” guide will be posted on Friday, November 24th, 2023. Every guide is posted on:

   • Instagram Feed (@travelguidesasheville)

   • Instagram Reels

   • Instagram Stories

   • Website (added to our home page for at least 2 weeks, remains in blog forever! www.travelguidesasheville.com)

   • Pinterest (@travelguidesasheville)

   • Tik Tok (@travelguidesasheville)

• In addition to having over 80% of our audience based in Asheville (and being a popular resource amongst visitors to the area), we are currently investing a portion of our profits into Instagram ads that boost our guide posts to target Asheville and the surrounding areas!

Tips:

• We approve applications based on: your businesses offerings in accordance with what we’re looking for in this specific guide.

• Spots in our paid guide features are first come, first serve. We recommend applying as soon as possible for the best chance of securing a spot! Once you apply & receive your approval email your spot is held for 24 hours (this is your payment window!).

*Applications close Wednesday, November 22nd at 11:55pm.

*One-Time Payment of $350 is due within 24 hours of approval to guarantee your spot.

FAQ

• What do I submit for the guide?

  For the guide you’ll submit 4 photos and a short “About” blurb/caption (max 45 words).

  In addition your business name, Instagram handle, and location (if applicable) will be included as well!

  A feature only added to our guides on our website is a button that links to your business website (not included on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest versions of the guide).

• Is the guide printed?

  No, Travel Guides Asheville is currently an online only travel guide!

• Is there a monthly/yearly payment for the guide?

  No. It’s a one-time fee to be included in the guide. The guide remains available forever (yeah, we think it’s a steal too :) )

• How long does the guide last?

  Forever! The guide stays on our website and socials (Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok) as a permanent post.

  Bonus? For weeks and months even after the guide is posted we re-share our previous guides into our Instagram stories. This reminds our audience (and new followers) what guides we have available on our page!

• Do I submit payment before confirmation that my business will be included in the guide?

  No! After receiving your approval email you have 24 hours to check out and submit payment. Your spot is held during this time and once you submit payment within those 24 hours you are guaranteed your spot.

• Are there any benefits (long-term or short-term) that come from a guide feature?

  There are so many benefits to working with us!

  Think of Travel Guides Asheville as being your personal marketing team - we love supporting the businesses & individuals we work with. Here are some of the benefits of participating in a guide feature:

  • You will be presented in front of our Asheville-based audience, across each of our channels - all of which are popular among locals & visitors to the area! Our guides also make a great reference point. For example, when someone asks, “Who are the best wedding photographers in the area?”, our followers (or anyone who has seen the list) can easily share the applicable guide.

  Our approach also takes social media “SEO” into consideration by using strategically curated hashtags. Because our posts are often popular enough to appear in the “Top” section of selected hashtags, we are able to offer you added visibility to a wider audience through both the guide Feed Post & IG Reel. For example, when someone searches Instagram for ”#AshevilleWeddingPhotographers”, our posts can frequently be found among the first few “Top” posts.

  • Another way we get you in front of your key target audience and potential clients is through our involvement in the popular Facebook Communities/Groups for Asheville. It is common to see visitors and locals alike popping into these Facebook groups to ask questions. For example, a user may post, "Who's a great wedding photographer based in Asheville?" We actively monitor these groups, sharing relevant guides to help answer questions and promote our featured businesses and individuals.

  • Across all our channels and social media engagement, we continually prioritize those who have worked with us - especially as it relates to sharing content you tag us in on Instagram! We love to share local businesses and entrepreneurs in our stories whenever we can. That's what we're all about - supporting local! You now have a forever social media support team - tag us in your posts or your stories and we will re-share with our audience, even long after the guide has posted. We also try to keep an eye on your page and comment, save, share, and like your posts, too!

  • Our guides are frequently reposted into our stories on Instagram to remind our audience what guides have already been published. So you can count on this guide being re-shared long after its posting date.

  • We also provide you with publicity directly on our website! We regularly rotate our “Featured Guides” on display at the top of our home page. These are the first guides people see when they visit our site. Each new guide remains in our "Featured" section for two weeks, though many will be rotated back into this section even after the two weeks.

• Additional information you may be interested in knowing

  • You pick the photos that are included in the guide! We feature four photos on each businesses page in the guide. You’ll find this information in the form you fill out before checking out/submitting payment.

  • Your Business’s Instagram @ name is shared on your page of the guide and in the caption/description section. This way viewers can easily find you on social media and check out your page!

  • Wanting more backlinks to your website? When a guide is posted on our website, we have a clickable button under each businesses featured section that links to their website.

  • Questions about SEO? A ton of work behind the scenes goes into to making sure our guides appear in Google results and Pinterest/Facebook/Instagram searches. SEO Titles, navigation titles, keywords, tags and categories, site and page descriptions, image names, alt. text, etc. are all part of our process for SEO.

  • Insights after 7 days of the guide posting date are sent to your email. This way you can see how well the post performed on all of our social platforms!