I love being an online entrepreneur! Being a homeschooling family, the flexible lifestyle works for us and was the original reason I was looking to work online around my kids’ homeschooling schedule. Of course, not everything is perfect. Maybe you have been burned by investing time and money to work with someone or purchased a course only to find they aren’t really able to deliver the promises they made. Unfortunately, it can be challenging to tell who or what is a great asset to your business. I know this has happened to me and I have been lucky enough early in my online career to find a mentor that I know, love, and trust for seven years and counting! When she offered a certification program in digital marketing strategy, I knew I was in!
Enter: The Funnel Gorgeous Society: Digital Marketing Certification
Funnel Gorgeous Society Certified Master Marketer Program - My Review (Updated 9/2023)
What is FG Society vs. Funnel Gorgeous vs FG Funnels?
Funnel Gorgeous is the brand founded by Julie Chenell and Cathy Olson; more about their background and experience in the next section.
Funnel Gorgeous (FG) Society is the certification program they developed in June 2020. Their three-pronged approach consists of teaching about creating good offers and funnel strategy, copywriting, and funnel design skills. The FG Society exists because Julie and Cathy wanted a way to ensure people could learn the skills needed to become excellent marketers with integrity.
FG Funnels is their all-in-one funnel software with gorgeous funnel templates designed by Cathy. You don’t need to use their software but FG Funnels makes funnel building a lot easier and prettier.
Who is the founder of Funnel Gorgeous?
Created by Julie Chenell and Cathy Olson. Julie’s skill set lies in digital marketing. She is the mentor I found over seven years ago with a $27 program (no longer available) called “Find a Client in 30 Days.” This is how I got my start online as a Virtual Assistant and then went on to purchase her program, Create Your Laptop Life (CYLL), which has since been updated and is now called The Digital Guidebook. While she has been an entrepreneur for some time working on web design and funnels, in 2014 she solidified her passion for internet marketing and grew it into a multi-million-dollar business within three years. Her credentials include working with entrepreneurs such as Russell Brunson as the VP of Marketing at Clickfunnels, coaching and mentoring students from $100k to 7-figures in her exclusive mastermind group, Digital Insiders, Funnel Gorgeous and so much more.
Cathy’s mastery is in graphic arts and design and she has worked in the field for over 20 years. Cathy’s the one with the rainbow hair. She teaches high-end branding, graphics, and web design at Love Inspired and is the creator of the design course, The Inspired Pro. All of her work infuses the idea of strategic conversion because while a brand’s visual aesthetic is important if it’s not booking more clients and selling more products, it’s not doing its job.
Together, Julie and Cathy combine their experience and expertise to teach and equip other entrepreneurs to excel in digital marketing strategy through strategic conversion and high-end design. The two together are lovingly called Julithy!
What it Means to be a 'Triple Threat' in Digital Marketing Strategy?
If you are wondering how Julie and Cathy teach digital marketing strategy within Funnel Gorgeous Society, they use a three-pronged approach to develop what they call, “triple threat marketers.” In all their years of experience, they found these areas most necessary in funnel conversion:
- Offer & Funnel Strategy
- Funnel Copy
- Funnel Design
Together these elements combine to make your service or product irresistible, perfectly positioned in front of your audience, and offered in a way that your people trust what you are selling. This is the perfect funnel, and it’s been tested again and again with results that outperform industry standards. The conversion rates of funnels built by Funnel Gorgeous Society Certified Master Marketers, or Triple Threat Marketers, beat benchmarks 100% of the time.
Who Would Benefit from FG Society and Learning Digital Marketing Strategy?
I think a better question is who wouldn’t benefit from Funnel Gorgeous Society if you are selling anything online from services, digital products, group programs, 1:1 coaching, or masterminds, then you need to know how to combine the strategy, copywriting, and conversion-driven design to maximize your profits.
FG Society certification can be beneficial for coaches and service providers such as funnel designers, funnel strategists, copywriters, designers, digital marketers, marketing consultants, marketing coaches, marketing agencies, virtual assistants looking to upgrade their skills, Facebook ad agencies that want to increase their knowledge of funnel strategies, and business owners who strive to build an internal funnel team.
How would this help me and my business as an online marketer?
I believe knowledge is power, and I know I wouldn’t be where I am in life or in business if I didn’t constantly educate myself about my industry. After all, my goal is to provide my clients and my audience with as much value as I can.
FG Society provides their certified marketers with money-making skills in digital marketing strategy, confidence (because no one has time for imposter syndrome), a #jobopp board and access to direct requests for work, instant access to Proposal Secrets developed by Julie and Cathy, and featured on their website directory, HireAMarketer.com. Many students enrolled in the Certified Master Marketer Program begin working before they complete the certification. I myself have gotten a lot of funnel work from this website!
Do I need certification in digital marketing strategy?
You know as an online entrepreneur you can bootstrap your way to success. Sure, you can just take the courses and not be certified as an FG Society Master Marketer.
I think the perks of certification are worth the cost:
- 50% affiliate commission on courses and templates
- wholesale templates
- a listing on their website directory and access to job requests through HireAMarketer.com
- a dedicated Facebook group with a network of talented and helpful entrepreneurs with a wide variety of backgrounds
- discounts on other courses like Launch Gorgeous, Offer Cure, Webinar Gorgeous, etc.
- access to two of the greatest minds in marketing weekly on coaching calls and monthly Q&A calls for certified marketers only
- You can ask anything; from helping with advice about clients to questions on the certification material. PLUS Julie and Cathy always over-deliver so you get lots of extras being a part of the community like sneak peeks behind the scenes and first access to new products!
While many of these are self-explanatory, I think my favorite has been the community. I was lucky to be able to spend time with other like-minded entrepreneurs. A group of diverse individuals who believe in industry integrity, ongoing education, and support enabled me to uplevel my business this past year. Plus I know I have a go-to network of people who might have skill sets beyond my own. I might be certified in copywriting through the program, but it’s not something I truly enjoy, and would rather partner with someone from the community who does love it and will do their best for my clients. The community lets me access those stronger in that area for feedback, support, and outsourcing if needed.
What does it cover and how does it work?
To be a triple threat in digital marketing strategy, the FG Society Certification is broken into three phases.
Phase 1 is Offer Creation and Strategy. Learn about various business models, your unique selling proposition, offering value, pricing strategy, and funnel strategy and analysis. We learned what type of funnel to create for what offer depending on the price point and what your business needs at that very moment. I knew about the different types of funnels but didn’t fully understand why you would use one versus another. Phase 1 was my favorite phase and it brought together all that I had learned along the way, into a cohesive strategy.
Phase 2 is Funnel Copy all around perfecting your writing skills for sales and conversion. This is where you will learn how to write sales copy, guarantees, headlines, closes, naming, and more. And secrets the insiders know like storytelling, persuasion, and preframing.
Copywriting is NOT my favorite thing to do and was the module I was most worried about, but with the bite-size videos breaking every element of a sales page down was MIND BLOWING. It takes me a long time to write a sales page but I can do it for myself and I could do it for a client if I wanted.
Phase 3, Funnel Design empowers you to optimize your offer design. Learn how colors, space, and emphasis can affect your offer, as well as how to do mockups and more. Cathy and Julie knocked it out of the park with the funnel conversion design. I feel more confident in my design even though I am not a designer. I can look at a sales page or graphic and tell why it looks off. They gave us concepts that turned the non-graphic designer into a sales page designer.
In each phase, you receive bite-sized curriculum videos, workbooks, exam prep, milestone calls once a month with advice and insights, plus Q&As within the Facebook Group. After you complete each step, there is an exam before moving into the next phase of the program. The exams are on the content as well as a practical way to test your strategy, copywriting, and design skills along the way.
What is the cost and are there any additional costs besides the course?
The current cost is $2,997. You can pay in full or there is a 12-month payment plan. This is all explained in the info session which I suggest you watch to get all the details directly from Julie & Cathy.
There are some prerequisites like Julie and Cathy’s other programs. This ensures comprehensive learning in all areas of digital marketing strategy. Offer Cure and Funnel Rx are required prior to Phase 1. Ad Gorgeous and Webinar Gorgeous are required to be completed during Phase 2. There are no additional prerequisites necessary for Phase 3. Think of them as your college textbooks.
You must finish all three phases within 1 year of starting to be certified. (Again, certification is not 100% necessary). It can easily be finished in one month or up to a year. This allows you to go at your own pace and of course, leaves room for life’s happenings. I love that there are study groups and people at all levels of finishing so you can always find a study buddy to keep yourself accountable. 🙂
The real scoop...The Funnel Gorgeous Society Certification: Is It Worth It?
PROS:
I spent half of 2020 in the FG Society Certified Master Marketer Program. I want to praise the amazing content and community from the rooftops! Julie’s teaching skills are top-notch! She can break down concepts into easy-to-understand bites with fun examples. (Julie and Cathy are Disney freaks and build a Disney course as an example, which of course makes you want to run off to Disney!)
Yes, the program is an investment but I think it is an amazing value for the money. You could easily spend more money and not get a quarter of what you will in FG Society. It’s not necessary to be certified if you don’t want to. You can strictly take it just for the knowledge and community. Have you wasted hours elbow-deep in Google searches, downloads, programs, courses, and coaches looking for the secret sauce?
Trust me when I say, fast-track your learning. Join FG Society and tie all your knowledge up into one amazing package. It’s 1000% worth it and will only help your online business flourish no matter what niche you are in.
Knowing what I know now could have saved me a lot of time and energy. The community has been incredible; I have made so many additional friends and business connections through FG Society.
The certification gave me more authority. It gave me more clients. It gave me more confidence. And not to mention how much I’ve used these new skills for my own business, too.
No more spending HOURS and HOURS trying to figure something out or spending thousands of dollars to hire someone.
I had the skills to take care of it myself FASTER and BETTER!
As a service provider, when you increase your skills, you can increase your income, and work less which allows me more time to be with my family!
The actual certification was the icing on the cake as the outward recognition that I in fact know what I am talking about! The community Julie and Cathy have built has led me to create amazing online friends and a network of talented marketers to help me when I need to refer someone to my client or when I get stuck.
Whether you are a service provider wanting to increase your skills as a funnel builder or a business owner who wants the knowledge for your own business, The Funnel Gorgeous Society Certification is worth learning more about for anyone who wants the skills to earn more consistently.
If you’ve been on an earning plateau or if you’re working hard but not making what you want because 900 billion other people have the same skills as you…then maybe it’s time to level up?
THINGS I WOULD IMPROVE:
While there are weekly coaching calls and group Q&A support, I would have liked a little bit more interaction from the FG team in the form of funnel reviews or personal feedback. Sure I have the course resources and certification. But, sometimes the extra assurance is really valuable, especially when creating your first few funnels. Luckily, I had the community to lean on to make sure my funnel was optimized. Plus if you get stuck in a particular area, you can ask questions in the Q&A so it’s learning how to ask the right questions.
Would I do it again? 1000%. I cannot recommend this program enough! I wish it was around when I first started my entrepreneurial journey. Then again, sometimes you find things when you are ready to receive them. I might not have appreciated the knowledge if I had been offered this digital marketing strategy program as a newbie.
How about you? Are you ready to dive in and become a triple-threat marketer? Not sure? If you have any questions for me and my experience in the program, drop a comment below and ask. I know it’s called Funnel Gorgeous and you may be wondering… yes, there ARE men in the group.
If you have any questions for me and my experience in the program, drop a comment below and ask. I know it’s called Funnel Gorgeous and you may be wondering… yes, there ARE men in the group.
Julie and Cathy have put together a free on-demand info session where you can get all the details.
OR, if you are a reader (skimmer), you can read all the details on the FG Society page which spells out all the details!
