15 Step Advertorial Checklist (Eugene Schwartz inspired)

We just dropped the full funnel breakdown inside of the Funnel of the Week Members Area…

This time?

An advertorial-led $49 front-end hair growth offer that generated a whopping $717 cart value:

Check out the full breakdown inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area….

But in this post…

We’re going to walk through some of the biggest takeaways from the front end of this funnel.

Specifically a 15 step advertorial checklist you can use to make sure your next advertorial (and sales page) crushes it.

15-Step Eugene Schwartz Advertorial Checklist

First, Who Was Eugene Schwartz? And Why Should Every Direct Response Marketer Study His Frameworks?

Eugene Schwartz was a legendary 20th-century copywriter whose insights into consumer psychology transformed direct-response marketing.

His classic book, Breakthrough Advertising, introduced timeless frameworks that help marketers understand buyer awareness, market sophistication, and emotional persuasion. 

His In this guide, we'll explore Schwartz's powerful principles through a practical analysis of this hair growth advertorial for our Funnel of the Week featured funnel, TryBello, so you can see how to apply these strategies to your own advertorial landing pages.

Let’s dig in…

Core Sales Argument Analysis

The TryBello advertorial page promotes "Hair Helper Spray" as a solution for hair loss, following a clear persuasive structure:

1. Problem identification: Hair loss is identified as a widespread issue stemming from restricted blood flow caused by DHT

2. Insight revelation: The "shocking truth" that the root cause is hormonal and blood flow-related, not genetic

3. Solution presentation: The three-ingredient spray (caffeine, biotin, castor oil) that addresses DHT

4. Social proof: Before/after testimonials and reviews

5. Call to action: Limited-time discount offer with money-back guarantee

Let’s take a look at the core principles at play here…

Eugene Schwartz Advertorial Frameworks

1. Mass Desire Identification

Your ad/advertorial shouldn't try to create a new desire in the reader's mind.

Schwartz teaches that your copy must instead channel existing desires.

Truly powerful advertising takes a deep-seated emotional want, hope, fear, or desire that already exists widely within your market and channels it toward your product.

Key point: Identify the emotional core desire your prospect already feels strongly about—and focus relentlessly on it.

Here’s one of the many ways TryBello does this:

• Desire to maintain youth and attractiveness (through healthy hair)

• Fear of aging and losing attractiveness

• Desire for simple, affordable solutions to complex problems

The headline directly addresses this Mass Desire: "Could Blood Flow Be the Real Culprit Behind Our Thinning, Shedding Hair?"

2. Stages of Awareness

Schwartz defined five distinct "awareness" levels: 

1. Unaware → 2. Problem Aware → 3. Solution Aware → 4. Product Aware → 5. Most Aware 

Great copy directly addresses readers at their specific stage, seamlessly connecting their current level of knowledge to your product's unique solution.

The copy assumes readers are in the "Problem Aware" stage - they know they have hair loss but don't know its true cause. The writer:

• Acknowledges their awareness of the problem

• Educates them about what's really causing it (blood flow restriction)

• Introduces the solution (three-ingredient spray)

• Names the specific product (Hair Helper Spray)

3. Market Sophistication

Ever wonder why some ads fall flat while others seem to read your mind?

Schwartz's Market Sophistication framework explains exactly that.

This powerful concept helps you understand where your audience's head is at after being bombarded with similar marketing messages.

When you know which of the five stages your market is in, you can avoid wasting money on messaging that feels either too basic or too complicated for your audience.

• Stage 1 (First to Market): Simple, direct claims work when you're first with no competition; just state what your product does.

• Stage 2 (Competition Enters): As competitors make similar claims, you must enlarge and intensify your basic claim to stand out.

• Stage 3 (Claim Exhaustion): Basic claims are no longer believable due to market saturation; introduce a new mechanism for delivering the same result (TryBello's approach with blood flow/DHT blocking).

• Stage 4 (Mechanism Elaboration): When mechanisms become common, elaborate on yours with greater specificity, complexity, or specialization.

• Stage 5 (Market Maturity): All possible claims and mechanisms have been tried; shift from product features to identification with the prospect's identity and self-image.

TryBello’s copy positions itself in the Third Stage of Sophistication, where:

• The market is saturated with hair loss solutions

• Old claims aren't working anymore

• A new mechanism is needed to make promises believable again

TryBello presents the "blood flow/DHT blocking" mechanism as the breakthrough that makes their product different.

4. Intensification

Ever notice how some ads make you feel the benefits so deeply you can almost touch them? That's intensification at work.

Schwartz knew that vague promises don't sell – people need to visualize exactly how a product will transform their lives.

Intensification techniques take abstract benefits and make them visceral, turning "improves hair growth" into an emotional journey with before-and-after scenarios you can see and feel. When you master these techniques, your copy doesn't just tell – it shows, convinces, and compels action.

The copy uses several of Schwartz's intensification techniques:

• Presenting claims through scientific explanations and illustrations

• Putting claims into action with descriptions of how the product works

• Using customer testimonials extensively

• Showing “what’s at stake” by describing the devastating effects of untreated hair loss

• Demonstrating how easy the product is to use

5. Mechanization

Ever wonder why some products seem magical while others feel like snake oil?

Mechanization is Schwartz's secret for making big promises believable by revealing the logical "how it works" behind your claims.

By naming and explaining your product's mechanism—the specific process that delivers results—you satisfy the prospect's natural skepticism and transform vague promises into concrete, credible benefits they can visualize working in their own lives.

TryBello’s copy heavily features the "mechanism" behind the product's effectiveness:

• Names the mechanism (DHT blocking via three specific ingredients)

• Describes how each ingredient works in detail

• Features visual diagrams showing healthy vs. unhealthy hair follicles

6. Concentration

When your market is crowded with competitors, sometimes the most powerful approach isn't just promoting your strengths but strategically highlighting your competitors' weaknesses.

Schwartz's Concentration technique systematically exposes the flaws in competing solutions before positioning your product as the answer that eliminates those exact problems—turning market saturation from a challenge into a persuasive advantage.

The copy directly attacks competing solutions:

• Points out weaknesses in Minoxidil (causes irritation)

• Explains why oral biotin supplements don't work

• Positions their solution as superior through direct comparison

7. Gradualization

Think of persuasion as crossing a river—you can't just leap to the other side in one giant bound.

Gradualization is Schwartz's method for building stepping stones of belief, carefully guiding prospects from what they already accept to your ultimate claim through a series of logical, digestible steps.

This technique is crucial because it prevents the mental "rejection reflex" that happens when you ask people to accept too much, too quickly.

Here’s how TryBello builds belief, step by step:

1. Establishes Dr. Anderson as an authority

2. Presents the problem (hair loss)

3. Reveals insights from research

4. Explains the mechanism of hair loss

5. Introduces potential solutions

6. Critiques existing solutions

7. Presents their solution

8. Provides proof through testimonials

9. Offers a guarantee

These are just 7 of Schwartz’s principles, but we put together a quick checklist you can use to apply 15 of Schwartz’s principles to your next Advertorial or Salespage:

Go ahead and run your next advertorial (or sales page) through this checklist to make sure you’re ticking all the boxes when it comes to Schwartz’s time-honored Direct Response principles!

And if you want to see how TryBello applies these principles to generate over $700 in cart value off of a $49 front end purchase?

Go ahead and check out the full funnel breakdown inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area.

Already a Funnel of the Week member? Here is the direct link to the post (must be logged in)

Enjoy!

Have a great week!

The Funnel of the Week Team

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