Is M-Academy For me?
While the programme is game-changing, it won’t be right for everyone.
Select A category of FAQ to find answers to your questions
Overview of M-Academy
Overview of M-Academy
Who it's suited to
Who it's suited to
Fees & 100% Guarantee
Fees & 100% guarantee
Additional Questions
Additional Questions
Overview of M-Academy
Overview of M-Academy
Who it's suited to
Who it's suited to
Fees & 100% Guarantee
Fees & 100% guarantee
Additional Questions
Additional Questions
Overview of M-Academy
The M-Academy is an 8-week online learning programme designed to take the heavy lifting out of your marketing.
When you sign up to M-Academy, you’ll get direct access to the tools, techniques and templates honed in Abbie’s marketing agency. The programme throws back the curtain on how the best firms have grown their businesses and brands using targeted, impactful marketing.
Whether you’re a marketing newbie or seasoned professional, M-Academy will give you the inside track on marketing a financial planning business. From articulating your value proposition to setting your content strategy, revamping your client experience and website, to hosting events and Client Advisory Board meetings.
For more information, take a look at the entire curriculum and additional masterclasses. You can access both here.
The entire course is online – no travel necessary. All course materials, including streaming videos, Playbooks (aka workbooks), tools and resources are held within our member portal.
You can work through the modules each week as they’re released or slow things down to fit around your schedule (we realise life and work can sometimes get in the way!).
You’ll also benefit from lifetime access to the programme, so you can review and revisit your M-Academy materials at any time.
The web is full of noise. Courses are often too light-touch or focus on lofty theories with little application in a financial advice business. By contrast, M-Academy is an all-encompassing, thought-provoking and challenging course. It’s designed to mentor, coach and nurture a marketing mindset. It will also give you a track to run on, so you can quickly and seamlessly apply your learnings.
The course is delivered as a series of modules. Each focuses on an essential element of a financial adviser’s marketing strategy, using short videos, case studies and real-life examples. M-Academy is transformative, filled with action-orientated exercises and access to more than 100 tools and templates.
Abbie’s UK-based financial adviser clients have used and tested every resource in the toolkit. And if it doesn’t work for you, we offer a 100% money-back guarantee when you submit your completed coursework before the deadline for your intake.
You have zero to lose and everything to gain.
The course overview, curriculum, and bonus masterclasses can be found here.
M-Academy’s strength isn’t in lofty, groundbreaking ideas or hacks. It’s often said there are no new ideas in marketing. There’s also a wealth of free content online that could teach you everything you could ever need to know.
The problem is, how do you know what you don’t know? And how do you take a theory, concept or idea and turn it into action? Knowing is not the same as doing. All the free content in the world won’t help if you can’t apply your learnings as part of a cohesive strategy.
M-Academy delivers actionable insight. It will give you confidence in the decisions you make. No doubt you’ll test concepts and sometimes fail, but you will appreciate the importance of consistent action and playing the long game.
The content in the course, including the curriculum and bonus masterclasses can be found here.
As you will see from the course outline, we cover all the essentials of marketing a financial advisory firm. We don’t delve into the specifics of your investment offering (although we do share examples of how some firms articulate theirs). Nor do we cover platform or back-office selection, business structures, insurance or trademarking. And while we address social media and SEO, we tackle your strategy and essential elements to consider, but not the granular technical detail.
Throughout the M-Academy programme, we share actionable intelligence to help you formulate and implement a cohesive marketing strategy. We also help you evaluate and engage with trusted third parties if you need additional support to address specific areas of weakness.
The next intake for M-Academy commences in May 2023. You can register your interest here to stay informed of key dates and timing.
When M-Academy launches you can work at your own pace over the year or choose to complete the set work every week as they’re released and graduate at the end of 8 weeks.
We encourage you to take the course every year to revisit the concepts and tweak your approach to achieve even greater marketing success.
Whether you’re a marketing newbie or seasoned professional, M-Academy will give you the inside track on marketing a financial planning firm. You can take the tour here.
Who it's suited to
M-Academy is for ambitious marketers, business owners and change agents who want to supercharge their growth. Whether you’re new to marketing or a seasoned professional, the course will give you the inside track on what it takes to successfully market a service-orientated business.
Do you:
- Want better results from your marketing?
- Hate wasting your time and budget on ineffective initiatives?
- Adopt an ad hoc approach, lurching between feast and famine?
- Feel like you’re spending too much time trying to figure everything out?
- Need a track to run on with your marketing?
If you answered yes, then M-Academy could be right for you. We built the programme for those who want to see results sooner using proven methods. Although you must be prepared to put in the work. You can take the tour here.
M-Academy isn’t suitable for everyone. We care about transforming our students’ businesses (and lives) and want to ensure you have the best opportunity for success. That means making the right decision about whether to sign up or walk away.
Do you:
- Prefer 1:1 consultancy or coaching?
- Want help to build your investment offering, select a platform or back-office, understand business structures, insurance, trademarking or the granular technical detail of SEO? (we don’t cover these)
- Want a silver bullet for all your marketing needs but don’t want to do the work?
- Need personalised feedback before deciding on a course of action?
- Struggle to prioritise and get stuck when work builds up?
If this sounds like you, M-Academy might not be the right programme. But please don’t worry.
As you may have guessed, the ‘M’ in M-Academy stands for Marketing (we also like to say it’s for Mastery, Mentoring, and Marvellous!). But that doesn’t mean you have to work in marketing to join the programme and reap the rewards.
M-Academy is for ANYONE who wants to transform how they attract clients, engage, communicate and build their network. This could be a frontline salesperson looking to convert prospects into clients. A solopreneur taking the leap from a large corporate to go out on their own. You might be new to marketing or have climbed the ladder and now run a team.
No matter where you are on your journey, you’re welcome to join us. We’d love to have you on board.
M-Academy was designed with Financial Advisers in mind. It fully appreciates the challenges of marketing a service in a tightly regulated environment. That being said, the principles can be applied to any service-based business. While the examples we use are relevant to those working in financial services, we also draw on insight across a wide range of sectors – from lifestyle brands to fashion and fitness.
Whatever your business, you need to know how to articulate your value proposition and craft messaging to attract and engage your ideal clients. You also need to build world-class client experiences that will surprise and delight. So, no, M-Academy is not just for those who work in financial advice firms. It’s for anyone who wants to improve their marketing prowess.
Absolutely! The content covered in the course is applicable in any market. Abbie has worked with financial advisers in Australia, Canada and South Africa, helping them apply the very same principles.
The UK regulatory landscape is occasionally referenced; however, most advanced financial services markets closely follow the UK model. If anything, the course could bring new insights you can apply from abroad.
M-Academy is offered as a single membership programme. That means just one person per membership. Please enrol separately if you want to do the programme with a friend or colleague.
We appreciate the value of the camaraderie that comes with collaborating and sharing your course experience with others. If you can assemble a study group of four or more people, you’ll all be eligible for a group discount. Please contact us at [email protected] to find out more.
The entire M-Academy programme is run online, which means all you need is a laptop, iPad or iPhone with access to the internet.
We realise people have different preferences for consuming content. Some like audio, others video or the written word. No matter how you like to learn, we’ve got you covered. You can download the audio files to listen to while you’re on the go, watch the videos online or print the transcripts to read wherever you prefer to study.
Fees & 100% Guarantee
We’re offering a special launch price for PFS attendees. If you sign up before midnight on 1 December 2022 you’ll secure the discounted price of £2,333 (usually £3,499 for the full M-Academy programme). That’s a saving of £1,166 (1/3 off) for full access to the M-Academy programme! Email us at [email protected] to find our more.
The fee for M-Academy is £3,499 if you pay in full. We also offer payment plans, charged in instalments of £349 per month for 12 months.
M-Academy is an investment for any financial advice firm owner devoted to growing their business. We respect your investment and commitment to the programme.
We plan to! Every year, we intend to offer a handful of scholarship places. Send us your name and email to be notified of the details of our scholarship application process, when they’re made available.
Important note: Please watch out for our emails and prioritise reading them. The scholarship window will be tight – just 5 days every intake. We would hate for you to miss the opportunity to apply.
Yes! Our programme is backed by a 100% risk-free guarantee. If you’re dissatisfied with M-Academy, please submit your completed coursework by the refund deadline for your intake.
Please note that refund eligibility is subject to this firm deadline. It also applies to payment plans, which means if you’re on a payment plan, you will be responsible for all payments after the refund deadline has passed.
You can pay your M-Academy tuition using a credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. We accept all major credit cards – American Express, Discover, Diners, Mastercard, and Visa. We are not currently set up to receive bank transfers or cheques.
Additional Questions
The M-Academy cultivates a marketing mindset. It will give you a track to run on, with access to more than 100 tools, templates and resources to fast-track your success. Every item has been tried and tested by Abbie’s financial adviser clients.
It’s essentially an agency in a box. We throw back the curtain on the tools, techniques and technology used by marketing agencies to achieve results. The best bit: you get unlimited access for a fraction of the cost of hiring an agency.
We realise it’s a significant investment for small business owners. But you can rest assured you’ll reap the rewards if you put in the work.
Specifically, you will have access to 8 core modules and bonus masterclasses, released over a period of 8 weeks. Each lesson will teach you a new skill and show you how to apply it your business (the templates will help speed up your time to market).
You can work through the lessons weekly as they’re released or save them up and binge it all in one go. The programme is available to you for an entire year. After that, alumni can join the M-Academy every year to revisit the course and access any new training content.
Mentoring calls are hosted every two weeks to answer any pressing questions and support you through the programme. All questions and answers are posted to a searchable FAQ section in the member’s area, so you’ll have easy access to the answers you need, when you need them.
We host bi-weekly mentoring calls during the 8-week live component of the course. You can use these forums to ask any pressing questions, discuss the materials, any challenges or blockages, and share your ideas.
You will also have access to our comprehensive and searchable FAQ database, which we continually update and add new content to.
Collaboration among students is encouraged in the member’s area of the site. The discussion forums create a sense of community and camaraderie, so do take a look. They also help you stay outcome-focused as you work through the course content.
If you have any technical queries, such as problems logging in or accessing course materials, please email the team at [email protected]
Abbie hosts the mentoring calls and will answer your questions during the live 8-week component of the course. All questions and responses are then added to the searchable FAQ section in the member’s area of the site.
It’s important to remember that the programme is not 1:2:1 coaching. Abbie has packaged her best ideas and proven marketing techniques into the M-Academy modules and bonus masterclasses, designed to be both easy to consume and implement.
This course differs from those run by our professional bodies (for example, your financial planning qualifications). You won’t get course credits or letters after your name. Although we guess we could create a professional designation if we get enough requests!
Why THIS marketing course?
Share with him/her/they/other exactly what you’ll get when you sign-up for the programme. The course is jam-packed with proven concepts and templates, enabling you to immediately implement the learnings in your business. This means you’ll test ideas faster and see results sooner.
Who’s Abbie Knight, and what’s her experience in financial adviser marketing?
Abbie Knight is a marketing veteran with more than two decades’ experience in the financial advice sector. Before launching the programme, Abbie ran a successful marketing agency focused entirely on helping growth-focused advisers achieve their ambitions. Her work spans the Australian, UK, US and South African markets.
Abbie is well-known for her collaborative teaching style, honed through running adviser workshops and lecturing in Marketing and eBusiness at the University of Technology, Sydney. Today, Abbie also regularly presents at high-profile events for financial advisers.
M-Academy combines her wealth of knowledge and experience marketing on behalf of her financial adviser clients into a single, concise, results-orientated course. On countless occasions, advisers have asked Abbie to share the tools, templates and process her team deployed with clients – here they are! M-Academy has packaged all that intellectual property (and new ideas) into an easy-to-digest 8-module course.
Advisers often ask Abbie to mentor and coach their marketing people. This is another driver behind the M-Academy. It’s a platform for Abbie to engage at scale with marketing and business people, coaching and mentoring them with full access to the resources they need to succeed.
You’re already busy. How will you fit this in too?
Tell him/her/they/other not to worry about the time commitment. The M-Academy allows for self-paced learning, so if you’re busy on a project or life gets in the way, you can fit the coursework around your schedule.
There’s an 8-week ‘live’ component of the course, with modules released weekly, supported by mentoring calls every two weeks. If you elect to go at your own pace, the calls are recorded, and questions and answers are added to the FAQ section. You can access this content any time within 12 months of your enrolment. After that, all alumni are granted lifetime access to M-Academy, so you can revisit the material anytime.
It’s a lot to spend. What value can I expect in return?
Yes. This course is designed to supercharge your marketing. Perhaps you’ve hired a junior marketing resource or someone new to marketing a financial advice business. Or you could be launching a new firm and want to build a strong foundation (and avoid expensive mistakes) from the start.
The M-Academy will remove your reliance on expensive third parties – freelancers or agencies – enabling you to build capability in-house. If you still need external support, you’ll know the right questions to ask, saving you time and money.
The course supports the ‘grow your own talent’ approach. It will allow you to bring on less experienced team members and train them to deliver at a much higher level. The course will build confidence, improve efficiency, and mentor a marketing mindset.
Abbie’s consultancy clients pay upwards of £1,800 per day, which means the course costs less than two days of 1:2:1 consultancy. You get access to her best ideas (honed over 20+ years in the profession) in a concise, easy-to-digest course that you can implement at your own pace.
What other benefits will I see?
This course will help you make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes, following a proven path. It will encourage you to take measured risks and get momentum behind your marketing.
The M-Academy answers your most pressing marketing questions. You’ll also learn the tools, tricks and hacks used by agencies, allowing you to allocate your marketing budget elsewhere.
Won’t all advice firms that go through the process end up looking and sounding the same?
No. The M-Academy is not a cookie-cutter approach. It’s designed to help you find and use your unique voice. Every business is different. We help you hone in on and magnify those differences, appealing to your ideal clients and distinguishing you from the competition.
I still don’t think marketing adds value. Isn’t that the department where we keep the crayons?
Marketing adds tremendous value but has a bad reputation. Often, people ‘end up’ in marketing with little appreciation of the product suite, clients they serve, and how the business makes money. Without the proper focus, attention and investment, marketing can be ad-hoc and therefore yields little by way of results.
The M-Academy addresses these issues. It will also improve engagement between marketing and others across the firm via several team-based initiatives – demonstrating value and ensuring everyone is on board.
This programme is designed to raise the professionalism of your marketing, branding and language to attract new clients and keep your current clients engaged. It’s transformative – if you put in the work.
Do you still need answers to your questions? Please email us at [email protected], and we’ll get right back to you.
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Course Outline
The M-Academy curriculum, course timing and cost.
Testimonials
See what Abbie's clients have to say about her approach.
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