The 5 levels of awareness: how Eugene Schwartz's framework tells you where your VSL should start

The five levels of awareness come from Eugene Schwartz's 1966 book Breakthrough Advertising. They describe how much a prospect knows when your message reaches them: Most Aware, Product-Aware, Solution-Aware, Problem-Aware and Completely Unaware. The level decides where your VSL starts. The more aware the viewer, the sooner you can name the product and the offer; the less aware, the further back the story begins.

What are the 5 levels of awareness?

Eugene M. Schwartz was a direct-response copywriter. His book Breakthrough Advertising was first published in 1966 (Goodreads), and a later edition came out from Bottom Line Books in 2004 (Google Books). One of its central ideas is that an ad's opening has to meet prospects where they already are. What they know about their own desire, about the ways to satisfy it and about your product decides what your first words must say.

Schwartz sorted prospects into five states, now widely known as the five levels, or stages, of awareness:

Schwartz's five levels of awareness

From the easiest sale to the hardest

1. 1Most AwareKnows your product, wants it and needs only the deal.
2. 2Product-AwareKnows your product but isn't yet convinced it's right for them.
3. 3Solution-AwareKnows the result they want and that solutions exist, but not your product.
4. 4Problem-AwareFeels the problem but doesn't know a real solution exists, or doesn't believe one does.
5. 5Completely UnawareDoesn't recognize the problem yet, or doesn't connect it to anything that can be solved.

The list runs from the easiest sale to the hardest. The practical rule that falls out of it: the more aware your prospect, the more direct your opening can be; the less aware, the more indirect it has to be.

For a VSL this goes beyond the headline. The level decides how long the video runs before the product appears, how much story it needs, when the pitch can start and which traffic should see which version. The rest of this guide takes the levels one at a time, using a fictional $47 online course, Calm Walk Method, that teaches dog owners to stop leash pulling.

Most Aware: open with the offer

These viewers already know the product and want it. They're past buyers, people who watched to the pitch yesterday and left, cart abandoners and email subscribers who know the story. What they lack is a reason to act now: the price, the bundle, the bonus, the guarantee.

Don't make them sit through the full cold-traffic video again. Open with the offer, send them to a short offer video, or send them straight to the offer section of the page. Restate the core promise in one sentence so they remember why they wanted it, then present the deal.

Resume behavior matters here too. In RevvyScales, a returning viewer picks up from the deepest point they watched instead of starting over, so someone who left at the pitch comes back to the pitch.

The common mistake at this level is sending retargeting traffic to the full cold VSL. It spends the viewer's patience, and your ad budget, on people who were already close to buying.

Product-Aware: open with proof and the reason to choose you

Product-aware viewers know the product exists and roughly what it does, but they aren't sold. They saw an ad, visited the page, maybe watched part of the VSL, maybe compared you with a competitor. What stands between them and the purchase is doubt.

So open by answering the doubt. Lead with your strongest proof, the thing that sets you apart, the guarantee, or a direct answer to the main objection. At this level a demonstration usually beats a claim, because they've already heard the claim.

Where this traffic comes from: retargeting of visitors who didn't reach the pitch or didn't click, comparison searches and buyers of related products. Give them an objection-focused version of the VSL, or a short follow-up video, with the FAQ directly below the player.

Solution-Aware: open with the result and why your way is different

Solution-aware viewers know what they want and that solutions exist, and they've usually tried some. Our dog owner has bought a no-pull collar, watched free training videos and maybe paid a trainer for a session. They haven't heard of Calm Walk, and they're tired of options that half-worked.

Open with the result they want, then show why your approach gets there when the familiar options didn't. At this level the mechanism (how and why your solution works) usually carries the VSL, because the promise alone sounds like everything else they've tried. How much weight the mechanism must carry depends on how many competing claims the market has heard, which is the subject of market sophistication, covered further down.

Where this traffic comes from: searches for solution categories ("best no-pull collar", "leash training course"), interest audiences built around the category and warm social audiences. For many markets, this is the level the main VSL is written for.

Problem-Aware: open with the problem in their words

Problem-aware viewers feel the problem every day but don't know a real solution exists, or they've stopped believing one does. They aren't shopping. They're coping.

Open with the problem, described more precisely than they could describe it themselves, including what it costs them. Show that you understand it, explain why it happens, and only then reveal that there's a way out. This is the classic problem-agitate-solve opening and a common starting point for cold-traffic VSLs.

A problem-first opening, in order

1. 1The problem, in their wordsDescribed more precisely than they could describe it themselves, including what it costs them.
2. 2Why it happensShow that you understand it, and explain why it happens.
3. 3The way outOnly then reveal that there's a way out.

Two rules keep this opening honest and effective. Use the words buyers actually use, taken from reviews, forum posts and survey answers, because their phrasing is more vivid than yours. And agitate truthfully: make the real cost of the problem vivid without inventing consequences.

Where this traffic comes from: cold social video ads that name the problem, searches for the problem itself ("dog pulls on leash") and presell pages that start the story before the VSL.

Completely Unaware: open with the viewer, a story or news

Completely unaware viewers don't know they have the problem, or don't think of it as something that can be solved. They didn't come looking for you. Your ad interrupted them.

You can't open with the product, or even with the problem as you'd name it. Start with something they already care about: who they are, a story, a surprising observation, a piece of news, a question about their own experience. Then lead them to recognize the problem, then the possibility of a solution, then the product. That takes time, which is one reason long VSLs, advertorials and presell pages exist.

Indirect doesn't mean vague. The viewer has to sense within seconds that the video is about their life, even if the product doesn't appear for several minutes. A story with no visible connection to the viewer loses them before the turn.

The awareness map: how each level changes a VSL opening

Here is the whole framework on one page, using the same fictional product:

The awareness map

Each level with an example hook (fictional) for Calm Walk Method

Most AwareProduct-AwareSolution-AwareProblem-AwareCompletely Unaware

Most Aware

What they know: your product, and that they want it. Open with: the offer.

"Calm Walk is open again, reactive-dog module included"

Typical source: buyers, cart abandoners, email list.

Product-Aware

What they know: your product, but not convinced. Open with: proof, difference, guarantee.

"A full walk with a 90-pound dog that lunges at bikes"

Typical source: retargeting, comparison searches.

Solution-Aware

What they know: the result they want and the usual fixes. Open with: the result plus your mechanism.

"Collars manage pulling; this changes why it happens"

Typical source: category searches, warm social.

Problem-Aware

What they know: the problem, not a real solution. Open with: the problem in their words.

"If every walk feels like being dragged down the street"

Typical source: cold social, problem searches, presells.

Completely Unaware

What they know: not the problem as such. Open with: the viewer, a story or news.

"Watch the first ten seconds of your next walk"

Typical source: broad cold social, advertorials.

Open one level and you have the brief for your first 60 seconds. Compare the levels and you see why one VSL rarely fits all traffic: the opening that converts a cart abandoner confuses a cold viewer, and the opening that hooks a cold viewer bores a buyer.

What awareness changes beyond the first minute

A long VSL is a ladder

A long VSL doesn't stay at one level. It walks the viewer up, roughly one level per section, until they're Most Aware at the moment the price appears. That's why the opening matters so much: it decides how many rungs the video has to climb, and every extra rung costs minutes and viewers.

A long VSL is a ladder

Where each section moves the viewer from, and to

1. 1Hook and leadFrom Completely Unaware to Problem-Aware: "this is about me".
2. 2Problem and agitationFrom Problem-Aware, mildly, to Problem-Aware and motivated to fix it.
3. 3Story and discoveryFrom Problem-Aware to Solution-Aware: a real fix exists.
4. 4Mechanism and proofFrom Solution-Aware to Product-Aware: this product is that fix.
5. 5Offer, guarantee and closeFrom Product-Aware to Most Aware: wants it, at this price, now.

Two consequences follow. If your traffic arrives Solution-Aware, the sections before the discovery mostly re-teach what viewers already know, so you can compress them into a minute and bring the mechanism forward. And when the retention graph shows a cliff at a section boundary, ask which step that section was supposed to deliver. A cliff during the story can mean viewers never accepted that the problem was theirs; a cliff during the mechanism can mean they hadn't yet accepted that a fix could exist. Treat those as hypotheses to test, not rules, but they point you at the right paragraph to rewrite.

Length, offer timing and the page

Awareness also sets the direction for everything around the opening:

These are directions, not durations. The right length still comes from your retention graph and revenue per visitor; our guide on how long a VSL should be covers how to decide. Offer timing is easy to vary per version: in RevvyScales, the offer, guarantee and CTA button stay hidden until a pitch second you set for each VSL, so an offer-first version and a full-length version can each reveal the offer at their own moment.

How to diagnose your traffic's awareness level

Awareness doesn't belong to a market as a whole. It belongs to each click, and the ad that produced the click sets most of it. An ad that opens with the problem filters for problem-aware people. An ad that names your product filters for product-aware ones. Start from the source, then confirm with data.

Answer a question or two about where a click comes from to find its likely level and the opening to test:

Which awareness level is your traffic at?

The likely level, and the opening to test, by traffic source

1Where does the click come from?

Email to buyers, branded searchRetargetingA searchA cold social adAn advertorial or presell

The ad that produced the click sets most of its awareness.

2How far did these viewers get in the VSL?

They left before the pitchThey reached the pitch

3What did they search for?

The solution categoryThe problem

4How does the ad open?

It names the problemA story or curiosity hook

Best fit

Most Aware: offer-first, short

Email to buyers or a branded search: likely Most Aware. The opening to test: offer-first, short.

Best fit

Product-Aware: proof and objections

Retargeting viewers who left before the pitch: likely Product-Aware. The opening to test: proof and objections.

Best fit

Most Aware: offer and guarantee

Retargeting viewers who reached the pitch: likely Most Aware. The opening to test: the offer and the guarantee.

Best fit

Solution-Aware: result plus mechanism

A search for the solution category: likely Solution-Aware. The opening to test: the result plus your mechanism.

Best fit

Problem-Aware: problem-first

A search for the problem: likely Problem-Aware. The opening to test: problem-first.

Best fit

Problem-Aware: problem-first, in the ad's words

A cold social ad that names the problem: likely Problem-Aware. The opening to test: problem-first, in the ad's words.

Best fit

Completely Unaware: story-first

A cold social ad with a story or curiosity hook: likely Completely Unaware. The opening to test: story-first, continuing the ad.

Best fit

Usually Problem-Aware: pick up where the presell ends

An advertorial or presell, then the VSL: usually Problem-Aware by the time they arrive. The opening to test: pick up where the presell ends.

Read more: Presell Page: What It Is, Formats and How to Write One

Confirm with the numbers

If an opening is pitched at the wrong level, the damage shows up in the first minute. So compare the same VSL across sources on unmute rate, retention at 60 seconds and revenue per visitor.

A worked example, with illustrative numbers: one VSL gets two kinds of traffic in a week. Cold traffic from a problem-led ad brings 3,000 visitors; 1,710 unmute (57%), 46% of those are still watching at 60 seconds, and revenue per visitor is $1.10. Retargeting brings 600 visitors; 420 unmute (70%), but only 38% of those are still watching at 60 seconds, and revenue per visitor is $2.40.

Retargeting earns more per visitor, as you'd expect from warmer traffic, yet it loses viewers faster in the first minute, because they're hearing a story they already know. That's the signal to build a short, offer-first version for retargeting and compare its revenue per visitor with the full VSL's.

Ask your buyers

Add one question to your post-purchase survey or welcome email: "What were you looking for when you found us?" Answers like "something to stop my dog pulling" (problem), "a better collar" (solution) and "Calm Walk" (product) map straight onto the levels. The exact words people use become your next hooks.

Example: rewriting an opening for its real traffic

Here's the kind of rewrite a diagnosis leads to. Calm Walk's original opening (fictional) was written as if every viewer already knew the course:

Most of the traffic, though, came from a cold ad about being dragged down the street. Those viewers were Problem-Aware: they didn't know Calm Walk, didn't know leash pulling has a cause you can work on, and weren't sure it could be fixed at all. The rewrite starts where they are:

The product isn't named in the first 30 seconds of the new version, and it doesn't need to be. Those seconds have two jobs for a problem-aware viewer: make them think "this is about me", then "there's an answer". Only after both does a product name mean anything. Test the two openings against each other on the same body, and judge the new one by retention at 60 seconds first and revenue per visitor once sales come in.

Levels of awareness and market sophistication: using both

Awareness tells you what the prospect knows about the problem, the solutions and your product. Market sophistication, the other framework from the same book, tells you how many similar claims they've already heard. An opening needs both: awareness picks the starting point, sophistication picks the kind of claim that will still be believed. Our guide to market sophistication covers its five stages in full.

The same awareness level in two markets

Market has heard few claims

• Problem-Aware: name the problem, then make a direct promise.
• Solution-Aware: promise a bigger or faster result, with proof.
• Completely Unaware: a story that ends in a simple promise.

Market has heard every claim

• Problem-Aware: name the problem, explain why familiar fixes fail, then reveal a new mechanism.
• Solution-Aware: show how your mechanism differs, and demonstrate it.
• Completely Unaware: a story the viewer identifies with; the claim comes late and quietly.

In crowded markets the big idea and the mechanism do more of the work, and the opening has to signal early that something genuinely different is coming.

How the other classics fit around the levels of awareness

Schwartz's framework is a diagnosis: it tells you where the viewer is. The other classics give you the tools for what comes next.

• Choosing the lead. Great Leads by Michael Masterson and John Forde sorts openings into six types (offer, promise, problem-solution, secret, proclamation and story) that run from direct to indirect, which lines up with the awareness levels: direct leads for aware prospects, indirect ones for unaware prospects.
• Writing and testing the first line. John Caples wrote the 1926 "They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano" ad for the U.S. School of Music and later the book Tested Advertising Methods (1932). His habit of judging headlines by real response is how to choose between openings; see our guide to Caples' headlines.
• Opening with the sound off. Ogilvy's rules on research, headlines and TV commercials carry over to a muted VSL opening; see Ogilvy on Advertising.
• Measuring everything. Claude Hopkins, whose Scientific Advertising was published in 1923, tested headlines, offers and propositions against one another and tied ad spending to measured results. The modern version is click IDs and revenue per visitor; see our summary of Scientific Advertising.
• Keeping viewers moving. Once the opening matches the level, every line has to earn the next one. That's Joseph Sugarman's slippery slide, and your retention graph measures it.
• The habits behind the copy. Our summary of Gary Halbert's Boron Letters covers the working habits that come before any of this.
• Running the project. Research-first processes such as Stefan Georgi's RMBC method (research, mechanism, brief, copy) are a natural place to pin down your traffic's awareness before anyone writes a hook.

For ready-to-adapt hook formulas grouped by awareness level, see VSL hook examples.

Common mistakes with the levels of awareness

• Judging awareness by the product, not the viewer. A well-known brand still meets completely unaware people in a broad feed.
• One VSL for every source. Keep one body and write two or three openings for your main traffic types.
• Opening with the offer for cold traffic. "Calm Walk Method, 50% off today" means nothing to someone who doesn't know the product or that leash pulling can be fixed.
• Indirect openings that never land. If the viewer can't tell within seconds that the video is about them, the story loses them before it turns.
• Skipping a step mid-video. A problem-aware viewer has to believe a solution exists before your product's features matter. Rush to features before that belief is in place and the retention graph shows a cliff.
• Assuming targeting sets awareness. With broad targeting, the ad's hook decides who clicks far more than the audience settings do.

Test yourself on four prospects:

Place the prospect

1. A cold social ad opens with "Watch the first ten seconds of your next walk." Which level is the viewer who clicks it most likely at?

   Most AwareSolution-AwareProblem-AwareCompletely Unaware
   Show the answer

   Completely Unaware. A cold social ad with a story or curiosity hook brings people who weren't thinking about the problem at all. Open story-first, continuing the ad.

2. A visitor arrives from a search for "best no-pull collar". Where should the VSL start?

   With the offer and the priceWith the result they want, then why your way is differentWith a story about who they are
   Show the answer

   With the result they want, then why your way is different. A search for the solution category points to a Solution-Aware viewer: they know what they want and that solutions exist. Open with the result, then show why your approach gets there when the familiar options didn't.

3. Yesterday a viewer watched to the pitch and left. Today a retargeting ad brings them back. What should the first seconds do?

   Tell the whole story againPresent the offer and the guaranteeName the problem in their words
   Show the answer

   Present the offer and the guarantee. Retargeting viewers who reached the pitch are likely Most Aware: they know the product and want it. Sending them through the full cold VSL spends their patience, and your ad budget, on someone who was already close to buying.

4. A well-known brand runs an ad in a broad feed. Can the people who click be Completely Unaware?

   No: everyone already knows the brandYes: awareness belongs to the viewer, not the product
   Show the answer

   Yes: awareness belongs to the viewer, not the product. Judging awareness by the product instead of the viewer is a common mistake. A well-known brand still meets completely unaware people in a broad feed.

How to apply this to your VSL tomorrow

1. List every traffic source sending visitors to your VSL and give each one a likely awareness level, using the decision tree above.
2. Watch your first 60 seconds and write down the level the opening assumes.
3. Where the two don't match, write one new opening for the level your biggest source actually sits at. Keep the body identical so the test isolates the opening.
4. Split traffic between the current opening and the new one. In RevvyScales, a folder splits new visitors between VSLs by weight and keeps each visitor on the version they first saw (folders and A/B splits).

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1. 1Pitch rateThe share of each version's plays that stayed until the pitch.
2. 2RPVRevenue per visitor of each version, the number that settles the test once sales come in.
3. 3Traffic %Each version's weight and its share of new visitors; each visitor stays on the version they first saw.

5. Judge by retention at 60 seconds and pitch reach first, then by revenue per visitor once enough sales come in.
6. Build a short offer-first version for retargeting and email, the most-aware traffic you already pay for.
7. Revisit the map whenever you add a traffic source or a new ad angle, because each one can bring viewers at a different level.