Ryan Deiss's Customer Value Journey: The Framework That Powers DigitalMarketer

If you’ve spent any time in digital marketing, you’ve probably encountered Ryan Deiss’s work.

As the founder of DigitalMarketer and Scalable, Deiss has trained over 15,000 businesses and helped shape how modern marketers think about customer acquisition. His frameworks are taught in marketing courses worldwide.

But his most influential contribution isn’t a tactic or a hack. It’s a way of thinking about the entire customer relationship: the Customer Value Journey.

What Is the Customer Value Journey?

The Customer Value Journey (CVJ) maps the complete path someone takes from stranger to raving fan. Unlike simple funnels that focus only on the sale, the CVJ recognizes that the transaction is just one step in a longer relationship.

The eight stages:

1. Aware — They discover you exist
2. Engage — They consume your content
3. Subscribe — They give you permission to contact them
4. Convert — They make a small commitment (often a low-ticket purchase)
5. Excite — They experience value and feel good about their decision
6. Ascend — They buy more or upgrade
7. Advocate — They refer others to you
8. Promote — They actively market for you

Most businesses focus obsessively on stages 1-4 (getting the sale) while ignoring stages 5-8 (maximizing customer value). That’s leaving money—and relationships—on the table.

Why This Framework Matters for Content

Here’s where the CVJ becomes powerful for bloggers and content creators:

Each stage requires different content.

A stranger in the “Aware” stage needs different content than a customer in the “Excite” stage. Yet most businesses create content for only one or two stages—usually awareness—and wonder why it doesn’t convert.

Content Mapping by Stage

Aware Stage Content:

• Blog posts answering common questions
• Social media content that gets shared
• SEO-optimized articles for discovery
• Guest posts on relevant platforms

Engage Stage Content:

• Deeper educational content
• How-to guides and tutorials
• Entertaining or thought-provoking pieces
• Content that demonstrates expertise

Subscribe Stage Content:

• Lead magnets that solve specific problems
• Free resources worth an email address
• Mini-courses or email sequences
• Checklists, templates, and tools

Convert Stage Content:

• Sales pages and landing pages
• Case studies showing results
• Comparison content (you vs. alternatives)
• “Is this right for me?” content

Excite Stage Content:

• Onboarding sequences
• Quick-win tutorials
• “What to do first” guides
• Celebration and acknowledgment

Ascend Stage Content:

• Advanced training opportunities
• Upgrade paths and premium offers
• “What’s next” content
• Success stories from advanced customers

Advocate Stage Content:

• Referral program explanations
• Shareable success stories
• Community content
• Recognition for loyal customers

Promote Stage Content:

• Affiliate program information
• Brand ambassador opportunities
• User-generated content campaigns
• Case study participation

The Deiss Principle: Value First, Then Ask

Throughout his teaching, Deiss emphasizes a core principle: deliver value before asking for commitment.

This shows up in the CVJ’s structure. Notice that “Convert” (where money changes hands) is stage 4, not stage 1. Three full stages of value delivery come first.

For content creators, this means:

• Blog posts should solve problems, not just tease solutions
• Lead magnets should deliver genuine value, not just pitch the paid offer
• Free content should be good enough that people would pay for it

The paradox Deiss teaches: the more value you give away, the more people want to buy from you.

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Applying the CVJ to Your Blog

Here’s a practical way to use this framework:

Step 1: Audit Your Current Content

List your existing content and categorize it by CVJ stage. Most people discover they have:

• Lots of Aware/Engage content (blog posts)
• Some Subscribe content (lead magnets)
• Limited Convert content (sales pages)
• Almost no Excite/Ascend/Advocate content

Step 2: Identify the Gaps

Where are people falling out of your journey? Common issues:

• Plenty of traffic but no subscribers → Weak Subscribe stage content
• Subscribers but no buyers → Weak Convert stage content
• One-time buyers who don’t return → Weak Excite/Ascend content

Step 3: Create Content for Each Stage

Build a content plan that addresses every stage, not just awareness. This might mean:

• Creating a proper onboarding sequence (Excite)
• Writing case studies and “is this right for you” posts (Convert)
• Developing advanced content for existing customers (Ascend)

Step 4: Connect the Stages

Every piece of content should move people to the next stage. Your blog posts should lead to your lead magnet. Your lead magnet should lead to your offer. Your offer should lead to the next offer.

This is what separates random content from strategic content that drives revenue.

The “Before and After” Grid

Another Deiss concept that’s invaluable for content creators: the Before and After Grid.

For any product or offer, map out:

Before	After
What do they HAVE?	What will they HAVE?
How do they FEEL?	How will they FEEL?
What’s their average DAY like?	What will their DAY be like?
What’s their STATUS?	What will their STATUS be?

This grid helps you write content that speaks to transformation, not just features. Instead of describing what your course includes, you describe the life someone has after completing it.

Before: “I spend hours writing blog posts that nobody reads.” After: “I publish one strategic post per week that generates leads while I sleep.”

Content that bridges this gap resonates because it speaks to what people actually want—not your product, but the transformation it enables.

Common Mistakes When Applying the CVJ

Mistake 1: Trying to Jump Stages

You can’t take someone from Aware to Convert in one step. Each stage builds trust and commitment. Respect the journey.

Mistake 2: Neglecting Post-Purchase Stages

The sale isn’t the end—it’s the middle. Customers who feel excited about their purchase (stage 5) become your best marketing channel (stages 7-8).

Mistake 3: Creating Content Without Purpose

Every piece of content should serve a stage. “I should write a blog post” isn’t a strategy. “I need Aware stage content targeting [specific audience] that leads to [specific Subscribe content]” is a strategy.

Mistake 4: One Journey for Everyone

Different customer segments may need different journeys. A B2B prospect and a B2C customer might need very different content at each stage.

The Bigger Lesson

The Customer Value Journey isn’t just a marketing framework. It’s a philosophy about relationships.

It says: don’t treat people as transactions. Treat them as humans on a journey. Meet them where they are. Provide value before you ask for anything. Guide them step by step.

This approach takes longer than aggressive selling tactics. But it builds sustainable businesses with customers who actually like you—and who tell others about you.

Your Next Step

Audit your current content using the CVJ framework. Categorize everything you have by stage. Find the gaps.

Then create one piece of content for your weakest stage. If you have no Excite content, write an onboarding email sequence. If your Convert content is weak, write a case study. If you’re missing Ascend content, create something specifically for existing customers.

Build the complete journey, and watch what happens when people don’t just buy once—they stay, upgrade, and bring their friends.

Related Reading

• What Joanna Wiebe Gets Right That Most Copyhackers Students Miss — Another framework for conversion-focused content
• Russell Brunson’s Hook-Story-Offer: When It Works and When It Doesn’t — Complementary funnel methodology
• What All the Copywriting Legends Agree On — Universal principles across all frameworks
• Kyle Milligan’s Conversion Copy Principles — Copy Squad’s approach to conversion
• Todd Brown’s Big Idea Marketing — Standing out in crowded markets

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Or start with the free training to get the core framework today.