[💣 Free course pt. 1] 👁️ Awareness Stage

Design Your Buyer's Journey

This is a knowledge heavy post, the first of many. I would love it if you could leave your feedback below!

My post about the five stages of building and proofing a good quality funnel that gives your audience a wonderful experience got some solid interest, so I want to dive into this a bit more.

AWARENESS

The Awareness stage is where potential customers first encounter your product or service. This is the top of the marketing funnel, and it sets the tone for the entire buyer’s journey. At this stage, your ideal customers may not even realize they have a problem, much less know that your product or service can solve it.

Your goal is to capture attention and create curiosity, positioning yourself as someone who offers solutions to a specific problem or desire.

Why Awareness is Crucial:

Dan Kennedy, Russell's mentor and legendary direct-response marketer (just in case you're new here), emphasizes that without attention, nothing else matters. No matter how great your product or service is, if nobody knows about it, you won’t sell. Kennedy often focuses on grabbing attention through clear, direct, and compelling messaging, using techniques like strong headlines and bold claims.

Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of “Purple Cow,” takes a different approach to reach a similar outcome, advocating for remarkable marketing, which is to make something worth talking about. According to Godin, in a crowded market, if your product doesn’t stand out in a way that people remember, you’ll blend into the noise. He promotes the idea that being different, bold, and memorable creates the kind of awareness that drives organic word-of-mouth marketing.

I've always heard Russell Brunson talking about how the awareness stage is the first step in creating a relationship with your audience. He emphasizes the importance of knowing exactly who your audience is and where they hang out online. His strategies often involve putting content where your ideal customers already spend time—whether that’s social media, YouTube, or blog sites—and offering a quick win (like a free resource or valuable content) to capture their attention. He literally wrote Traffic Secrets about this, you should read it!

How Awareness Fits into your Funnel:

The Awareness stage serves as the entry point for the entire funnel, introducing new prospects into your ecosystem. Here, you aren’t trying to sell right away—you’re just trying to plant a seed in the minds of potential customers. The goal is to spark interest and make sure they remember you when they are ready to move to the next stage of the journey.

Whether it’s a curiosity-provoking headline, a compelling video, or an intriguing blog post, you want to get potential customers to stop scrolling, pay attention, and take a step towards learning more about you. We usually think of our Video Sales Letter, or a lead magnet, but this can also be done through a post.

Do you remember "I'm here in my garage, with my new Lamborghini"? Tai Lopez built a 2 million subscriber Youtube channel following this, post educational content and then running them as ads, asking for almost nothing in return for over a year before making his first real offer, 67 Steps

According to Seth Godin, this is also where you need to craft your story. He believes that the story you tell about your product or service needs to resonate emotionally with the audience and make them see your offering as remarkably different from others.

Dan Kennedy, on the other hand, argues that focusing on a specific problem and offering an immediate, clear solution is the best way to create awareness that turns into interest. He recommends using clear, tangible benefits in your messaging to immediately appeal to customer desires

Key Elements of the Awareness Stage:

1. Targeted Messaging:

Use direct, powerful headlines and promises that grab attention right away. Your messaging should cut through the noise and immediately address a specific pain point or desire.

2. Remarkable Differentiation:

Make your offer memorable and talk-worthy. If you can make your brand stand out as something remarkable, you’re more likely to generate organic awareness and word-of-mouth marketing.

3. Knowing Your Audience:

Finding out where your audience is online and place your content there. Whether you’re using social media, SEO, or paid ads, you need to be visible where your audience is already spending time. Your first goal is to pull them into your funnel with something they want to know more about.

Types of Content for the Awareness Stage. You don't have to do them all, but choose one and start!

1. Attention-Grabbing Ads:

These can be paid ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or Google. Wherever it is, make sure your ads are well-targeted and that they speak directly to a specific audience’s desires. Targeted ads help you reach the right audience faster by leveraging algorithms to match content with people who are already showing interest in related products or services.

2. Content Marketing:

Create content that people want to engage with to generating organic awareness. Blog posts, videos, podcasts, and guest posts on popular platforms are all excellent ways to introduce your brand. By answering questions and addressing problems your audience is facing, you establish yourself as an expert in their eyes.

3. Social Media and Viral Content:

Use short, punchy posts, visuals, or interactive stories that encourage engagement (likes, shares, comments). Play with your style until you get consistent growth, and then you can expand your reach quickly.

4. Lead Magnets and Opt-ins:

Offer a free resource (e.g., checklist, guide, or eBook) as a lead magnet to pull potential customers into your world. This “hook” provides immediate value and ensures they’ll remember you when they’re ready to take the next step.

Mistakes to Avoid in the Awareness Stage:

1. Not Being Specific Enough:

Be specific and focus on a clear, compelling benefit. You're not trying to fish with a stick of dynamite, focus on developing the right lure for your perfect fish

2. Failing to Stand Out:

Don't try to fit in. You're an entrepreneur, that makes you hella unusual already. In today’s crowded marketplace, if your product isn’t remarkable, people will ignore it. You need to stand out by offering something different or surprising, or at least present it in a new way.

3. Targeting the Wrong Audience:

If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach and where they spend time, your content won’t make the impact you need. Do your research and ensure your message is landing in the right places.

The Awareness stage is about introducing your brand in a way that captures attention, sparks curiosity, and pulls potential customers toward your product or service. By combining the power of targeted ads, remarkable content, and knowing where your audience is, you’ll be able to lay a strong foundation for your funnel.

Did this bring you value? Do you have questions? Please let me know down in the comments, I want to improve this and make it an awesome resource for you!

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