Website Planet had the chance to interview Fab Giovanetti, an awarded marketing consultant and CEO of Alt Marketing School, a professional school for marketers offering training from university-level marketing experts that have been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, Next Women Pitch Competition, and more.
We learnt the ins and outs of her new Positive Impact Marketing Certification, an incredibly affordable cohort-based course run by a team of multi-awarded mentors with 40+ years of experience combined.
What is your story and how did you come up with the idea of this course?
My name’s Fab, an Italian living in the UK for almost 14 years. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a knack for learning how things work. And not just that, I’ve always been drawn to the idea of imparting that knowledge and sharing it with others.
My journey into marketing was, in a way, serendipitous. I have always wanted to be a writer, and in fact, I wrote 2 books, including the award-winning Reclaim Your Time Off. I started writing while working as an in-house marketer 15 years ago.
I took a detour when trained to become a certified health coach and personal trainer. This passion led me to establish my first company. For nearly a decade, I was at the helm of the Health Bloggers Community, which later evolved into Creative Impact. During this time, we organized over 30 events across the UK, celebrated the industry with six awards ceremonies, and had the privilege of supporting more than 10,000 students.
But you see, during that time, I realized that I came back again and again to my marketing roots.
I began teaching about marketing with heart and purpose at colleges and professional schools, and to my delight, I had quite the knack for it! This newfound love and the desire to make a significant change in the marketing industry led me to start Alt Marketing School.
Here,
we’re on this ambitious mission to revolutionize the way marketing is perceived and taught. Through the school, we aim to make marketing more accessible, inclusive, and impactful, and I couldn’t be prouder of the strides we’re making towards that goal.
What will people learn in this course?
In our 8-week certification, we empower professionals from all walks of life to market to hearts, not merely to brains. Our curriculum is thought out to share marketing experience from leading experts, mirroring university standards sans the hefty price tag. We’re invested in making marketing more accessible, inclusive, fun, and impactful, echoing the ethos we believe in.
- There is a gap in ethical, heart-centered marketing that resonates on a deeper level with audiences, as opposed to surface-level, transactional approaches.
- On top of that the often prohibitive cost of high-quality marketing strategies provided by strategists and agencies means many struggle to get the support they need.
- Finally, we believe marketing should be enjoyed, which is why we give you a full toolkit of 30+ templates to help run your marketing faster, more effectively and efficiently.
We are here to help businesses step away from outdated, heartless marketing strategies that fail to engage audiences on a meaningful level, diminishing their potential impact and growth.
- By offering affordable, high-quality education, we’re giving more opportunities to marketers who need it to get the support they are looking for to grow their careers. Our inclusive ethos invites marketers, business owners and freelancers alike, fostering a rich learning environment.
- Our heart-centered marketing framework is a breath of fresh air, giving our students the tools to create genuine connections with their audiences.
- Unlike many cookie-cutter courses, ours is steeped in real-world expertise, a strong toolkit with done-for-you marketing systems, and a relentless pursuit of positive impact, setting us leagues apart from the competition.
Post-implementation of our certification, we have seen graduates launch whole new product, leave their old jobs to kick off brand new business and overall build better strategies for different areas of marketing. From an uptick in engagement rates to customer loyalty, and brand advocacy we have seen growth from our graduates thanks to a relationship-driven marketing approach.
Who is this course for? (And who is it NOT for?)
It’s always hard to answer this as honestly, it caters to a wealth of people – whether they are budding marketers, seasoned professionals, entrepreneurs, or individuals aspiring to transition into marketing. Where we are very unique is the mindset our students have: they are people looking to embrace a more heart-centred, impact-driven approach.
This is why we have applications for each and every cohort. We want to raise a generation of marketers with a passion for making a positive difference, and a desire to connect with audiences on a profound level.
On the flip side, this course will not resonate with people looking for a quick fix, or those unwilling to challenge traditional, transaction-centric marketing strategies.
Our course is designed with a wide appeal, however,
industries that are inherently impact-driven or community-focused might find it particularly beneficial. For example, businesses in the health, wellness, sustainability, and social entrepreneurship really find our ethos and frameworks incredibly aligning.
One of the biggest shocks came to us as we had a LOT of past marketers who went to university join our cohort. They found that traditional marketing degrees predominantly focused on tactical, transactional strategies that quickly became outdated and lacked a deeper understanding of human emotions and societal impact.
The shortfall of courses that promote quick fixes and are not rooted in a flexible curriculum is their failure to evolve with the ever-changing marketing landscape.
Also, a lot of the online marketing courses out there would not really focus on the value of accessibility, inclusivity, and positive impact within their approach either.
Time commitment is always something that our students are very wary of, which is why we keep our curriculum lean, and most of the work our students do for our assignments (real-life strategies and high level marketing decks) are done in session together.
The level of support has also been a big question from potential students, which is why we pride ourselves in keeping our cohorts small and highly targeted, by using applications and forms to tailor each cohort to our student groups.
How is the course structured?
The Alt Marketing School’s certification program is structured as an 8-week live cohort experience where learners are immersed in a community of like-minded individuals keen on making marketing more human-centric.
The course spans over a period of 8 weeks, with a cohort-based format that aims to encourage interaction, discussion, and collaborative learning. This structure fosters a sense of community and provides a supportive learning environment, which is integral to our teaching philosophy.
The curriculum combines theoretical understanding and practical group work on each session to ensure a unique learning experience. This format was chosen to provide a conducive environment for active learning and real-time interaction, making the learning process more engaging and effective. Plus, by working on a real brand (often your own) you are able to apply learnings and implementations in real time.
Putting Ideas into Practice
During the cohort our students also work on 3 assignments on a brand of choice, including brand identity, a content roadmap and a comprehensive marketing strategy.
The live cohort format facilitates feedback and problem-solving exercises, supercharging the practical application of theoretical knowledge
During the duration of the cohort, you’ll be invited in our private community to share questions, resources and ideas. Plus, in week 2 we create accountability groups for our students. The communal learning environment fostered by the cohort-based format also serves as a support system, providing students with a network of peers and instructors to get guidance from during and post the course duration.
Pricing options
We believe in flexible support, so we currently offer tiered payment options and financing plans. We currently offer payment plans for 3 and 6 payments. You’ll get access to all of the payment plans available once your application has been accepted!
We also offer limited seats for limited fee reductions exclusively for impact-driven individuals and brands through our
Marketing For Good Scholarship – which offers 70% off the full tuition fee.
You can request this scholarship via our application form, each request will be reviewed individually by our team. You can apply for fully funded scholarships through our selected partners (you can find the list on our website).
Success stories and testimonials
Students highlighted the tailored guidance, insightful exercises, structured approach, engaging and fun learning environment, and the modern & flexible curriculum as the most beneficial parts of the course.
They LOVE the personalised advice, the step-by-step process in understanding their target market and crafting resonating messages, and the meticulously designed curriculum that provided practical worksheets usable as marketing plans or brand guidelines.
Finally, the introduction to modern marketing techniques, like marketing funnels, and the emphasis on authenticity were highly valued.
Some examples from our graduates:
- Post course completion, students like Grace and Monica found themselves equipped with actionable insights to enhance their business reach and engage their target market more effectively.
- VA Charlotte, on her part, discovered a fresh perspective on structuring her marketing strategies through marketing funnels.
- Marketing employee Ash unlocked SEO knowledge and was able to impress his boss by crafting an effective SEO strategy that doubled website conversions.
- Similarly, Emma, a freelance video editor, found it easier to market her business and consult her clients on effective video posting strategies on various platforms, something she couldn’t offer before.
Through case studies, we see a recurring theme of tailored guidance, engaging experiences, and a community-centric learning environment that resonates profoundly with students, ultimately having been disillusioned before from university degrees and more “established” courses.
Students taking “official” qualification courses established for 20+ years mentioned how impressed they were by the relevance and the practical application of the cohort, and how they could immediately see results instead of being overwhelmed by theoretical jargon.
When recommending Alt Marketing School, students highlight the engaging live sessions, incredible teachers, diverse learning topics, and a true sense of community. They particularly rave about my personal energy as the head teacher – saying my teaching style makes learning enjoyable.
Moreover, they recommend the course for anyone aspiring to create a positive impact through their marketing strategies, appreciating the highly practical approach aimed at making a difference while effectively promoting oneself or one’s brand.
The testimonials and success stories in our wall of love show the deep impact Alt Marketing School has on its students, both professionally and personally, by not just meeting but exceeding their expectations.
“I made TikToks for the project and have such positive feedback from people who are doing this daily, who have a ton of experience in this, and who knows how fast this stuff changes to receive some feedback. It was just fantastic and gave me a lot of confidence moving forward to whatever that may be.”
What tools do you recommend to put your teachings into action?
To effectively implement the teachings from our course, we have curated a selection of tools and templates designed to streamline your marketing efforts and keep you organised.
Our recommended toolkit is a blend of proprietary systems, templates, and popular productivity platforms.
We highly recommend using Notion as a part of your toolkit, owing to its versatile functionality that aligns well with our coursework. The benefits are aplenty – from organising your thoughts, tracking your marketing goals using our OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) dashboard, to planning your content creation with a structured workflow. Notion serves as a centralised hub where you can manage various aspects of your marketing strategy efficiently.
Additionally,
we provide a range of 20+ templates and video tutorials for each like the 90-day audit worksheet, customer scorecard, and a content creation system. These templates are crafted to provide a structured approach, enabling you to methodically assess, plan, and execute your marketing strategies.
Finally, we have curated a list of our favourite tools, accessible for free on our website, which are handpicked to complement the teachings from the course and facilitate a smoother implementation of your marketing strategies.
Some of the best practices to keep in mind
We believe in the importance of taking action, which is the ethos we represent throughout.
- Implement Your Learnings: Actively apply the concepts and strategies learned from the course in your marketing initiatives. Real-world application will not only solidify your understanding but also get tangible results fast.
- Personalise Our Templates: Tailor the provided templates to align with your unique needs and the specific dynamics of your business. This personalisation ensures the templates serve as effective tools in navigating your marketing journey.
- Share Your Journey: Use the weekly prompts provided to share your progress on social media. Documenting and sharing your journey through the course not only serves as a personal accountability tool but also creates inspiring and organic content. It’s a wonderful way to reflect on your growth, engage with a wider audience, and possibly inspire others considering a similar path. Plus, it allows you to build an authentic narrative around your learning experience and show up online more consistently
