The first method you can try is to invite people to a local experience, such as you can create on AirBnB. An experience is when a person with local knowledge invites people to join them in exploring this event, such as:

• Visiting local food markets and cooking a homemade meal.
• Visiting local bars and sampling locally crafted beer which is only known to locals.
• Learning how to make hats in NYC's famed Garment District.
• Visit hidden jazz joints where the local fans and musicians hang out and explore real local bars, with a local.

Going to one of these events with a local, that's you, as a guide is incredibly exciting for anyone who would not know where to go. They get to see New York from the viewpoint of a true local inhabitant, away from the commercial bus tours and stereotypical tourist traps.

This is entirely up to you. The idea to work with is "different" and "unique". You should try and make events which only locals know about and avoid the obvious tourist destinations because people already know about those locations. Places like Central Park, Times Square and Statue Of Liberty, for example, should be avoided because they are oversold and boring. Unless, you can make them unique in some way.

You want to create something unique, fun and memorable. Such as:

• Wine lesson with a master Sommelier in a top New York cocktail bar.
• Taste Brooklyn's Local Vegan Food
• Learn how to be a stand up comedian for a night in Gotham Comedy Club!
• Learn how to cook authentic Italian food in Hoboken.
• Exploring NYC's Chinatown with a native.

Do see the type of thing I mean. You can charge someone $40+ per person, per session. You want to make it personable, honest and a memorable experience, by pouring your local knowledge and love for people into your project. This really encapsulates what a local experience really is and you're sure to get good reviews. 

First, you want to create an account with airbnb. Click here to create an account. Then, you click on the ‘Host’ tab and select ‘create experience’. Once you have filled in the relevant information about the experience description, categories and images, your experience will go live and you can start accepting clients.

When people search for experiences in New York, they will find your listing and if it is something they want to do, they will book it and come and visit you. AirBnB will take a small percentage of about 20%, but the rest will be pure profit for you to keep.

This is how you make money with AirBnB and you can do this while you live and work in New York, which makes this a great residual and easy monthly income.

Not only are you meeting people from all over the world, you are also making money by sharing your own personal passion with equally passionate people. You are socialising and exploring the local community with like-minded people.

The second option, you can use if you live in New York, is to start reviewing restaurants, coffee shops and bars. There are literally thousands of eating establishments within New York City. Whether it's the rich and glamorous upper East Side, Soho or The West Village, or perhaps a more modest establishment located on Long Island or the Lower East Side, every restaurant can be tried tested and reviewed.

Writing reviews is a fantastic way to make money online because it allows you to have total freedom of your day. You can experience new foods, new areas of your own city and it broadens your horizons.

The process is quite simple: You create a basic website and learn the simple strategy of blogging. You then proceed to go and try out restaurants and other establishments and then you write your review.

When you first review a restaurant, it is important to remain objective and not let personal feelings affect your review. You need to think of it as if you're using the eatery for the first time.  

Focus on subjects such as;

• speed of service
• source of ingredients
• quality of staff training and customer service
• interior and atmosphere
• taste and presentation of food and drink

I am sure you can think of other ones but these will give you an indication of the sort of categories to think about.

When you write your reviews, it is very important to be honest and impartial. Never make a review negative or bitter just because they didn't have your favourite dish available. Be factual and write from the perspective of a broad audience, they just want the basic details on whether or not they should go, not your own personal feelings - unless its relevant.

There are several ways you can make money from these local New York restaurant reviews.

Commissions From The Owners

When your website gains are considerable amount of traffic, it is quite common for restaurant owners to pay you a commission for bookings that come through your website. Much like a club promoter will get paid a commission to get people into a nightclub, the same applies for you as a restaurant critic. Naturally, if someone Google's a review of a certain restaurant and you have given a positive review, it is likely they will click on the link on your website which directs them to the restaurant booking page. When they book, you get paid!

Services such as www.restaurant.com pays handsomely if someone books a table at a restaurant through them. 

Advertising

Advertising works very much the same as the commission structure. When your site becomes more popular you can contact local restaurants and bars and offer to advertise their premises on your website, for a small monthly fee.

Sell Tickets To Food Events

There are many food related events in New York and you can promote ticket sales on your website. You can even write reviews about the events themselves and include promotional content about the event. When someone buys a ticket through your links, you get a commission.

Websites like Eventbrite.com, for example, has a great affiliate program.

They have listing for some interesting events, such as:

• NYC Beer Week
• NYC Hot Sauce Expo
• Tasting Table's Lobster Rumble
• NYC Food Truck Fest

These are just some of the methods you can use to monetize your food critic blog and use your local knowledge of the intimate areas of New York to make a monthly income.

The important thing to remember here is that you're using your local knowledge as leverage to make money online. New York is a huge city and for anyone who's visiting it is a very daunting prospect:

• Navigating and finding the best experiences and memories.
• Knowing how to get directions to a certain area or street is difficult,  
• Not to mention if English is your second language or if you have difficulty deciding where to go.
• Navigating the subway system can be difficult.
• Finding the quickest route and saving money on public transport.
• and so on, and  so forth...

A lot of people simply feel safer when they trust a true native New Yorker because, the local inhabitant always know the best places to visit, when to go, best value for money, and where is safe.

Therefore there's a huge market for people who are living in New York to capitalise on their local insider knowledge by sharing their tips and tricks on where to go, when to go, and how to get the best out of these places.