It’s probably the most important lesson from Eugene Schwartz’s timeless masterpiece, Breakthrough Advertising...

Schwartz was arguably the most successful copywriter of the 20th century. He also authored 10 books on marketing and copywriting. 

Breakthrough Advertising is his best. 

And this is the best advertising lesson it taught me: 

Identify your prospects’ “Level of Awareness” immediately — and let it inform your approach moving forward.

In other terms, ask yourself: “What’s the prospect already know?”

According to Schwartz, there are 5 awareness levels…  

Here they are, in order from least to greatest:

1. “Unaware” 👉 The prospect doesn’t even realize she has a problem. 

2. “Problem Aware” 👉 The prospect knows she has a problem, but doesn’t fully understand it. 

3. “Solution Aware” 👉 The prospect understands her problem and is aware of solutions LIKE yours, but she’s never heard of your specific product or service. 

4. “Product Aware” 👉 The prospect knows of your product, but hasn’t purchased yet. She’s still weighing her options, researching. 

5. “Most Aware” 👉 The prospect is a customer, past or present.

Knowing what your prospects already know will help you craft a promotion or campaign that meets them where they are, emotionally and practically.

And what’s more important than that?

LEARN TO PERSUADE

✅ Join thousands of email subscribers
✅ Less than 0.4% of readers unsubscribe
✅ Never miss a Micro-Article or -Interview
✅ Get instant email access to VGC's founder
✅ Be first in line to get new, free Micro-Courses

Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

If you want more “micro” content, feel free to explore 100s of articles, interviews, courses, and series — all free. 

Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founder

P.S. If you like VGC, you’ll love VGC Plus. Instantly unlock every post right here.