I found this website as I was looking for creative and interesting writer’s jobs online. As you likely know, I’m all about making extra money with side hustles, and this website seemed to offer an interesting opportunity for the right kinds of writers.
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But can you really make money writing about dance?
Yes, dance. The website Philadelphiadance.org not only accepts article submissions about dance, but they also even pay some writers for their submissions.
But what exactly is this site, and is it actually plausible to make money writing for it?
Let’s talk about that!
Making Money Writing About Dance
First things first, let’s talk about the site Philadelphiadance.org.
The Basics: What Is PhiladelphiaDANCE.org?
This website, which is the home of The Dance Journal, is a website that basically provides an outlet where writing can be published about the dance community in greater Philadelphia. Apparently, the dance scene here is pretty awesome, and it is also always growing.
The site has been around since 2006, and has grown to reach not just regional and national audiences, but also international readers. It gets over 35,000 hits per month, making it a major player in the Philadelphia dance scene.
Now, one thing that you might wonder is whether or not you could actually ever write for this site if you didn’t live in Philadelphia. That is a really good question, and I imagined that the answer would likely be a ‘no,’ based on my first impression of the site, but I went ahead and researched this… just to make sure.
We will talk more about that in a minute, though. First, let’s take a moment to discuss freelance writing in-general.
Freelance Writing: Is It A Good Side Hustle?
Actually, the short answer to this question is a ‘yes.’ But it is also a bit more complicated than just ‘writing and getting paid for it.’ Freelance writing is growing as a market because more and more people are leveraging content to make their websites more popular.
And of course, the best way to make any website more popular is to publish high-quality content that your readers will enjoy and want to see more of. So websites are pretty much always on the lookout nowadays for writers who can write content that will not only be well-done, but also popular.
But then again, just because there is a lot of work available does not always mean that freelance writing is easy money!
There are actually a LOT of writers who are trying to cash in on this need for content by trying to make a quick buck, and that saturates the market with writers… which makes it very competitive.
But… if you are willing to write, pitch, and not give up, then there is definitely a possibility that you will be able to build up a base of writing clients and get paid to write content for them!
But is The Dance Journal the right kind of website for that? Let’s talk about that next.
Checking Out The Content On The Dance Journal
I read through some of the articles that had been published recently on the site, and was most-definitely impressed by them. They did a fantastic job of describing the dancing events that they were covering, and almost conveyed a sort of ‘newspaper-esque’ feeling along with the content.
The articles (mixed in with a few press releases) were not just well-written, but also very informative and easy to read. The writers who composed them also did a good job of keeping them brief enough to avoid long-windedness, which is pretty cool.
You would think that reading about dancing would be a bit strange, but I was impressed with how well the dances were described in some of the articles. Obviously dance is a visual art form—but the writers here seem to do a good job of describing it with words.
Another observation that I had after reading through some of this is that I had no idea that Philadelphia had so much dancing going on! There are so many different kinds of events, and so many of them are by such professional and prolific dance groups and companies… I was actually really impressed.
I do love dance, very much. But I don’t know much about it, and I don’t live in Philadelphia.
But that was actually what I wanted to look at next. Could I actually get involved with this site from right here in the Midwest United States?
Here is what I found out.
Writing For PhiladelphiaDANCE.org
You can pretty easily find the page dedicated to contributions by going to the ‘Home’ button, and then scrolling down to the ‘Write For Us’ tab.
Here is a screenshot of what we found here.
The first thing that they say on this page is that you should be based in the greater Philadelphia region if you want to contribute to this site. (Tear slowly slides down face.)
So if you are not based in this area, this site may not be the right site for you to consider contributing to.
They also say that they are seeking individuals who have a passion for both dance and writing—which makes absolute sense.
They share some other bits of information here, and talk a lot about what they expect of their writers. This page was well-written and very informative.
I learned that paid writers are expected to contribute regularly to the publication, with a frequency of 1 to 2 pieces per month. I also learned that this site is always looking to expand their writing staff, which is pretty cool!
Another really awesome perk of getting this job is the access to performances. Their writers are considered to be members of the press, and can sometimes get complimentary access to different area performances for reviews and to cover the events.
They pay $50 per article, which is not too bad. I have seen better and I have seen worse, but it is not to be forgotten, either, that writing for this publication would look very good on your writer’s resume.
This site is not only administrated by a prestigious organization, but they also get a lot of traffic every day.
So yeah. It is most certainly worth a look!
They also note that pay rates can be negotiated separately for seasoned journalists, and that contracts are sometimes agreed-to in advance with different terms. They issue payments either by check or through PayPal.
To apply for a writing position with this site, you need to send them an email with ‘Dance Journal’ in the subject line (their email address is philadelphiadance@gmail.com).
You will need to state your interest in writing for them and also provide a sample for them to review. They mostly only accept contributions about dance—though they do occasionally accept articles on other topics as well.
If you get approved, they will ask you to cover and write about an area performance that will make or break your ‘paid writer’ status for the publication.
My Personal Feelings About Writing For PhiladelphiaDANCE.org
I actually really loved a lot of things about this site… though I, unfortunately, will not be able to make use of it because I do not live close enough to that area to cover area events.
But for writers who do live in that area, I feel like this would be an awesome website to apply to.
Obviously, prerequisites include, but are not necessarily limited to…
- A love and passion for writing
- A love and passion for dance
- Writing skills that will allow you to cover events and write in a challenging array of styles
- Enough knowledge of dance that you can cover events without sounding like you don’t know what you’re talking about
- A home base of operations located close-by or in the greater Philadelphia area
If this sounds like you, then you may very well have a shot at writing for this site, so I would give it a try!
They pay out $50 per article if you can become a regular contributor, but they sometimes also pay more than this, from the sound of it, depending on your experience and skill level—so if you are already a professional writer, this could prove to be an even better side hustle than you might have expected.
As a general rule, writing is not a bad side-hustle plan… though it is true that you will need to put in some work and grind hard at it if you want it to pay off in the long run.
And finally, writing for websites like this will not necessarily make you rich. But it can contribute to your career, and it can certainly help you to make some extra money while you are at it.
You can also focus on multiple websites, as many different sites pay for content. Examples include LadyQs, Screen Rant, A List Apart and Today I Found Out.
Our Final Opinion Of PhiladelphaDANCE.org
Should you apply to this site and try to make some money writing about dance?
There are a lot of ways to make money online. Some are good, some not, but ALL of them are still just trading hours for dollars.
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Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My name is Nathaniell and I'm the owner of One More Cup of Coffee. I started my first online business in 2010 promoting computer software and now I help newbies start their own businesses. Sign up for my #1 recommended training course and learn how to start your business for FREE!
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