What the hell is The GDI?

Since December 2020, The GDI (The GodDamnInspiration) has been my lovely little private membership group for writers and non-writers alike.

There. That’s it.

Feel free to stop reading and close this tab right now, because if you’re anything like me, the thought of another f**king membership group completely drains you of all your bodily essences – and not in a good way.

Membership groups are everywhere, and much like opinions, ar$eholes, and an addiction to vanity metric dopamine, everybody has one.

For those very reasons, I’ve only ever really talked about my membership to people who either already work with me, or have some kind of connection with me (perhaps we’re connected on LinkedIn, or you’re a signer-upper on my mailing list, for example). Maybe you’re the proud owner of Boost Your Bio or have got your mitts on a copy of TOT ANALYSIS – Why Running Your Business is Child’s Play (available in all good book shops). I don’t talk to strangers, essentially.

Indeed, when it comes to ‘marketing’ my membership, I’ve never written a lengthy landing page, segued a single sales pitch, or started a social media post about it with phrases like “founder member benefits” or “doors closing” or whatever. Everyone inside The GDI gets the same good stuff as everybody else, and the doors are always open (even if you may have to wait a little while to get inside whilst we find you a comfy spot).

Scarcity shit to make you join something now now NOW likely works for a lot of sellers and a lot of buyers, but it doesn’t work for me personally, and so I don’t ever use it when hoping to attract new members (or even clients) who may be a little bit similar to me in that respect and just want to take things at their own damn pace.

Having said that, despite capping The GDI membership number at 40 to keep a small and interactive (but diverse and vibrant) community feel, there will always be times when people leave and I find myself with a space I’d love to fill – and therefore, I’ll let people know about it.

Maybe a member has got everything they needed from The GDI by this point and wants to happily sail off into the sunset, giving us a friendly wave as they go.

Maybe The GDI is no longer a priority for a member in whatever they want or need right now for the betterment of their writing/business/life.

Maybe The GDI just hasn’t been as brilliant for a member as they’d hoped.

That last one could easily happen in any membership, if we’re honest in our marketing. I mean, look at me as an example… since they closed the pub next door to my gym, I haven’t renewed my fitness membership at all! It makes no sense for me to keep paying to attend something when I can’t enjoy a plate of cheesy garlic bread and a Ginger Daniels after I’m done, now does it?

(Go on, ask me about what – or who – Ginger Daniels is).

Whilst in the past the open spaces in The GDI have been filled up quickly and quietly by people who have at some point requested or shown an interest in ‘bonus Jo’ (god that sounds all kinds of awful), I thought it would be a good idea to get something written down to direct people towards in those instances, so that they could have a read and decide if they ever wanted to join… The GodDamnInspiration.

Here are the facts:

Everyone is welcome, but if after you’ve dropped me a message to show interest I don’t for whatever reason think it’s the best way for you to spend your ￡45 each month (leave at any time, by the way), I won’t waste your time or money by signing you up. In reality, ‘everyone’ means all those who want (or need) to do a bit of writing, but who would also like some inspiration, feedback, support, innovation, and accountability with their words and stuff. On the one hand, it’s for people who love writing and might be quite good at it but want to get better, but similarly, it’s also for people who hate writing but know they need to get better at it/do more of it for the sake of driving their business forward. You don’t have to be a business owner, though. You may work for someone else (hey, they might pay for your membership as part of your CPD), or you may not even have work-related interests for joining at all. Maybe you’re a budding freelance writer, columnist, or author! (Ooooh did I mention I have a book out…?)

In summary, I think the thing that draws everyone together in this wonderful membership group is that they ‘get’ me and feel intrigued and maybe even excited by what being in my world might be like for whatever I may be able to support them with.

And sweet baby Jesus, if you think I’m pretty ace, just wait ’til you meet everyone else in there!

Three years in, we still have a good few OGDI-ers on roll. These are ‘Original GDI members’ who have been there since the start, or who may have left and come back later on because the door is always open like that. But trust me, people are welcomed so quickly and so warmly, that if you jumped, hopped, or even flounced onto one of our weekly GDI Zoom calls, you’d think everyone (including yourself) had been there forever. It’s really bloody nice like that, I have to say.

That’s not to say the calls are filled with flowers and fluff, though. We talk about the big stuff when it’s needed, and people are very much encouraged to say what they think. I want diversity of thought, so although people have common bonds and shared values, it’s not an echo chamber (echo chamber, echo chamber…). Most importantly, though, we need to be able to have a laugh, speak freely, and respect different perspectives in the group. Everyone gets the chance to voice up (we have a nice little structure in place for this), but if you want to come along and just listen, that’s cool, too.

If you want tasks, live broadcasts, a bank of resources, and ‘masterminds’ in this membership group – you’re out of luck, old friend. That’s not what this is.

The ‘cornerstone content’ of The GDI lies in the weekly sixty-minute Zooms that you can jump in and out of – with no pressure to attend any (or all) at all. Every now and then, I’ll switch out a session each month in favour of a co-working space, where we all log on and get our writing done (cameras possibly on, mics definitely off). Nothing is ever recorded on Zoom, and you can speak freely to be understood. This is a safe space.

In addition, you'll also have a really simple-to-set-up profile on a nice secure platform called Guild, where you can upload your own writing samples (blogs, articles, features, stories, post ideas, profiles, emails, whatever) for critique and constructive feedback from other people in the group (including me, obviously). The thing that has always annoyed me about other paid writing and business memberships, is that there are always restrictions on when and what you can share. Not in The GDI, my friends. If you want to promote your latest business venture, or submit copy for review twenty times a day - do it. Get your money's worth. Just know that if you take take take and never give give give, people will get the measure of you pretty damn quickly, and you'll notice the enthusiasm to help and support you drop quicker than Magic Mike drops his joggers on a Saturday night in Florida.

And what else? There are loads of threads on the platform where you can chat and GIF (is that a verb?) with other members of the group whenever you like about lots of different things. Kids, mental health, freelancing, projects, difficult clients, tax, DIY, holidays, parents… and if there isn’t a thread set up already for what you want to chat about, go ahead and start one! I can’t say I was a massive fan when a sodding ‘Recipes’ thread popped up late last year, but after I had a mini rant about this “turning into f**king MumsNet“, I was over-ruled, and I now know more about the versatility of a beetroot than I ever thought I’d need to know.

Anyway, the threads are simple, safe, and a superb way for members to get to know everyone and support each other in things that are in no way limited to writing. No WhatsApp groups to worry about, and no Facebook groups to fuck about with, either. Set your own notifications, and just dip into the relevant and interesting bits where you can give, take, or ideally do both. Bliss.

Joining The GodDamnInspiration is a great way to work with me without the hassle and cost of actually having to hire me. Plus, you never know who’s going to be in that same membership group who you could end up partnering with in the future. Or blocking, one of the two. You might join the group because of me, but you’ll end up staying because of how bloody tremendous everyone else is. I’m not even my own favourite person in there!

The GodDamnInspiration!

I know… low key, classy, understated – just like me!

The GDI isn’t something I’m just ‘trying out’, by the way. It’s been running (damn effectively) since December 2020, and every time I think I can do something to shape it, streamline it, or sharpen it for the benefit of my lovely members, that’s exactly what I do.

So. Are you in?

Interested to register? Register your interest!