How I Use My 9 to 5 to Write Content

The 9 to 5 gets a bad reputation. It’s as though it’s some terrible sin to work a day job and that you are chained to your desk, screaming for freedom*.

*If that is you (and that is some people) you should absolutely look for a new job — a job should fulfill you.

But there is a truckload of people that work a day job that, actually, they don’t mind. Some people (gulp) even like their day job.

And for those people, there is a huge opportunity to create content on the internet to become an authority in your space.

Today I’m going to share with you the framework I use that has allowed me to build my business (based on my day job) to earn an average of $10k/mo this year, whilst working my day job.

Step 1: Find your ‘Job-skill-fit’ (JSF)

You 9 to 5 is a content gold mine.

The trick is to leverage it. For years, I thought my 9 to 5 was a boring, useless pursuit. A big ol’ waste of time. It wasn’t until I started writing about my experiences I realized one thing:

Most people work a 9 to 5.

And why is that a good thing? Because most people can resonate with it. What is writing 101? Connection.

If you want to become an authority, step 1 is to find what you are uniquely positioned to write about, and that’s what I call your ‘job-skill-fit’.

Here’s how you find it:

• Ask yourself what you think you are good at.
• Think about what other people come to you for.
• Pinpoint the thing you could talk about for hours.

For me, that ended up being my knowledge of science (and experimentation) with my ability to get stuff done.

For you, it could be your computing skills, your communication skills, or your knowledge of engineering. Whatever it might be. Once you’ve found it, move to step 2.

Step 2: Turn on the tap

The rabbit hole is where the opportunity is.

Most creators stop at the surface. They have one idea and immediately hit the page. The trouble is, the thinking isn’t developed and they are mostly (in most cases) regurgitating what they’ve heard elsewhere.

You need to get all the bad ideas out first by running the water for a while. To do this, here’s what you need to do:

• Take a piece of paper, and in the middle of it, write out your ‘JSF’.
• Then write down everything you can think of about that topic.
• Don’t stop until you have a full page.

Next up, we want to get super-specific, like uncomfortably so.

Step 3: The ‘bandana test’

One thing is for sure, obvious content sucks.

So to encourage you to go deep, like really weirdly-specific I want to focus your attention to something I’ve come across lately. Picture this: I’m scrolling on YouTube and come across a menswear lifestyle-type vlogger.

I don’t know why but I’m a few minutes into a vlog about suit trousers.

Anyway, I’m intrigued. I look up this guy’s most popular videos. I know what you’re thinking, it’s what I was thinking, I bet his most popular stuff is the generic stuff: how to dress on date night, what to wear to dinner, that sort of stuff. To my surprise, I was miles off the mark…

Let me read you his most popular uploads:

• How to Wear a Bandana — 789k
• How to Style Converse — 413k
• 7 Style Tips for Tall Guys — 285k
• How to Style Nike Blazers — 239k

Confused? Me too. But then I thought about it.

When we create space for ourselves online we tend to go to the obvious stuff, but if you want to stand out, you need to put your content idea through the ‘bandana test’ in other words, is it as specific as ‘How to wear a bandana’ if not, back to the drawing board.

Parker York (the YouTuber above) has gone specific, this is his niche (and sub-niche).

• Menswear
• ‘Styling tips’
• Specific pieces of clothing

We need to do the same. So let’s walk through it.

Step 4: Develop your own ‘bandana type content’

Now that is easier said than done, so I want to talk you through how to actually action this for yourself, from the lessons I’ve learned.

• Pinpoint your JSF — my JSF was science and business.

But that isn’t enough. I can’t just write ‘how science is business’ I mean I could but it probably wouldn’t get me very far. I need details. How? I need to pick an element of that thinking.

• Find an interesting P.O.V of your JSF — Well an interesting perspective is ideation (how to come up with ideas), one thing I learned in my job was how to come up with ideas and how to test those ideas in real time.

Now we need to take this one step further, it’s not enough to write about how to come up with ideas, I need to pair it with something smaller. Ideas are broad I need small.

• Pair with a unique angle — Well I’m passionate about writing content. Could I pair ideation techniques with writing content?

And here’s what I came up with:

​

$154, not bad.

You can use this method over and over. Here’s some brain-dumping to get you started. Let’s say you’re a first-time manager, here are some ‘bandana test approved’ headlines:

• How to Interview Someone When You’ve Never Interviewed Before
• How to Have Your First Hard Conversations With a Problematic Employee
• How to Run Your First 1–2–1 (Top Tips)

You see, specific.

Don’t stop at the surface

The content world feels saturated.

It’s saturated with obvious content and severely lacking great content.

Most people stop at the surface. But underneath that, the depth, that’s where the magic is. If you work a 9 to 5 you are in the perfect position to create on the internet.

You just need depth.

You find that depth by finding your JSF and leveraging it. Then use the bandana test to get you beyond the obvious and into the good stuff.

Hope that helps.