A Guide to Writing Great Coffee Shop Submissions
Your town has a nice local coffee shop, which is a great hangout place for locals. Yet you don’t know how to submit or what to write? This post will help you from conducting research, to writing a nice coffee shop description and supporting info.
For a coffee shop, I usually do this method:
Research the location → Write out the special “thing” → Write out description → Write out supporting information.
1. Research: Survey Why This Coffee Shop is Great
A little 10-15 minutes research will help you significantly! The result will be phenomenal later on.
1.1. Google the Coffee Shop
You might find a nice newspaper 
, or the coffee shop website. You can direct people into saying: “this is not my saying, this is the coffee shop that is offering this stuff, that stuff”.
- Result: A link to a newspaper / an authentic review / a youtube link talking about the coffee shop.
1.2. Check Google Maps
See if they have good reviews. I wouldn’t personally submit anything below 3 stars, because it would be not a good look. 4 Stars generally sound nicer for most reviewers imo.
- Result: A link to the google map with the review.
1.3. Observe the Noticeable Activity/Menu
Some examples I can give you, like a brainstorming:
Good activity in the coffee shop:
- Sport watch party?
- Hosting event, boardgame?
- Local meeting hangout?
- Billiard? Sport activity integrated with coffee shop? [Those will fit with exercising criteria]
- Internet cafe? They are a great place to hang out with friend and doing co-op gaming.
→ They fit socializing.
Location of the coffee shop:
- Demographic:
- A coffee shop near a school can be a popular location among students.
- A coffee shop sandwiched between factories can be popular among workers.
- A coffee shop that is really famous among tourists.
- You get the idea! This can be used as a great place to socializing.
- “Vibe” location:
- A coffee shop can be specifically placed inside an alley for a quiet environment, or a “secret” hangout location that you can escape from work.
- A coffee shop with a great garden to relax, or an exceptional menu (Up to you to prove what are the special traits about some of the drink in there)
→ They might fit as a great place to explore.
Special activity you won’t see anywhere else:
- Hosting music event, karaoke, or weekly event in town.
- Hosting volunteer work, having a history of helping the local in need.
→ They are significant to the community!
Do they have a mural? Post that instead!
- Result: Solid proof to prove the place is significant to the community.
2. Writing: Make a Great First Impression
2.1. The Importance of First Glance
When you submit, I think the photo and the first 3 lines of the description are critical for reviewers. A lot of reviewers tend to quick-read and if they are not impressed enough, they will go straight to decline for “Generic Business” without reading the supporting info.
2.2. Examples of Good Photos & Descriptions
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A good photo:
You don’t have to be a professional to take the best photo for a coffee shop. However, you need to take a photo good enough that you would share it on social media. I got huge compliments from the local on this coffee submission, where the photo is clear, and central enough, and gets people to read it.
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A nice description:
I usually will always describe a trait why it’s worth going, or the main age group that would visit. Here’s an example where I had a not-good image but I made the reader go through my submission.
Description: Located on Pham The Hien Street, this is where students after classes and adults after stressful work sessions can relax with great drinks, enjoy popular street scenes, and have private space to rest, study, and nurture themselves.
I write who would visit it first, which is “students and workers who have gone through work”. If I write “people” instead, it might come as generic. By pointing out who would visit the coffee, you can visualize why it’s worth it, hence getting the reader’s attention. [Demographic pointing out]
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Short description that still works:
Description: Located in Tan Ba market, this is where many workers and employees can relax after a tiring day of work with green gardens, beautiful paintings, and delicious water.
The image is not the best, and the description is short. However, I noticed it’s a nice coffee shop on the path from many industrial companies to home, so I wrote: Where worker and employee from a stressed day → Can be relaxed → with what is worth visiting. [Nice garden, Good drink]
[you have read it to here, congrats! here is a cookie 
]
2.3. Handling Rejections & Appeals
If the community still does not agree with your submission, you have a chance to appeal. Appeals may vary but here are some of my submissions to help you:
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A coffee shop with a “not good looking sign” [Reason: License plate?, Generic Business]
- I noticed the coffee shop is next to the river → A great coffee shop to discover and watch the sunset.
- The coffee shop is also between two cities, making it a great hangout place and a great resting location.
- The google review showcases fishing activity + “võng” bed → Some great activity.
→ The coffee shop is a great place to explore / socialize.
-
A less-known coffee shop with less activity? This is one of my first submissions.
Description: This is not an ordinary cafe. This is where all students have a quiet place to rest after stressful classes. A place to gather for board games and enjoy special teas from different regions.
- The location is named “Hidden in an alley”, which is intentional for the coffee shop.
- The location offers board-games, unique drinks
→ Great place to socialize and explore.
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A truly hidden gem with no Google Maps presence? I am proud of this one.
- The location has no google map presence, no newspaper.
- However, I noticed the coffee shop is between two industrial factories, making it a great place for workers to hang out during breaks. → A great place to socialize.
- The coffee shop was full of people, so I managed to take a supporting photo with full of people in it.
- I know, you might feel a submission that gets appealed and only overturned in a forum is less valuable, but proving a hidden gem is possible with enough evidence and observation.
2.4. Don’t Forget Murals!
A mural inside a coffee shop is also great! They are a great place to explore for many people.
3. Supporting Info & Photos
3.1. The Supporting Information
You can choose to repeat why this coffee shop is special. I usually write this as a reference:
This coffee shop is a perfect place to [A] because it has [X], while also having some of the [Y] stuff, making it a great place to [B],…
- Where [A], [B] are 1 of the 3 main criteria (Explore, Socialize, Exercise)
- And [X], [Y] are the traits of the coffee shop that fit the criteria.
Then, at the end, provide the links (like the Google Maps link and tell them how many stars/reviews they got) alongside any other links you found. This helps people verify the location. Supporting info allows links, so share the best ones.
3.2. The Supporting Photo
Sometimes words aren’t enough. You might want to take a photo of the coffee shop during peak hour, or a normal hour with lots of people (as in the example above).
It is hard for a lot of people to take photos because people might look at you, so it is fine if you choose not to. But if you are able to do so, it helps your case look better.
If you have read to here, I am sorry that you have been hearing all my yapping and probably wasted some of your time. I want to share my own experience <3. I know one guy who submitted coffee shops using my advice and he was able to get 20-30 coffee shops approved around a town, so hopefully, this will help a lot!
Also, forgive me for any grammar mistakes I made. Any future feedback can be provided to help this post better
so do you’ve any tipps for choosing a good title?