A couple of years ago, my husband and I were cycling in a remote part of Scotland, on an island which seemed to be entirely populated by sheep.

We’d seen only a handful of cars during our two-plus hours on that stretch of the road, including a tiny red hatchback that had been parked near a creek when we passed it.

About forty-five minutes later, we’d stopped at a viewpoint to have lunch when that red hatchback came meandering by.

It slowed.

Stopped.

And an old man got out and proceeded to talk our ear off for the next hour about bicycle touring.

(That’s Scotland for you.)

At some point while we were trading bike-related stories with this fine gentleman, something inside his car started barking. The man went to open his door to yell at it to hush.

Instead of hushing, a beefy, pure-white Chihuahua came bounding out.

As it made a beeline for our cycling snacks (salami, cheese, crackers, and a wee dram of nice whisky), the man yelled after it:

“Tofu! No! Get back here!”

Tofu did not listen. Tofu, I’m guessing, has never listened to a human in his life. Instead, he bounded around demanding our charcuterie with big Chihuahua energy until his owner finally distracted him with dog treats.

Tofu was the perfect name for the small, cube-shaped critter. And I think of that little guy every time I see the word.

Look at him.

Look at Tofu.

I’m telling you about Tofu because I need us to all get on the same page about one extremely important thing:

Every time I think of the concept of TOFU, I visualize that chonky Chihuahua, and now you can, too.

TOFU

Last week, we talked about marketing funnels, and how thinking of them more like a story helps you better understand how to talk to your customers at each stage of that journey.

This week, we’re going to go deeper on the first stages of that journey.

This is the awareness stage—the top of your funnel.

In marketing terms, we call this TOFU.

(Tofu! No!)

TOFU content demands attention. It bounds across your audience’s feed with big Chihuahua energy, saying I’m here! It’s me! And boy, do I have something to tell you!

What kinds of stories do you tell in the TOFU stage?

Remember, when we look at the Magnetic Story Framework, people in the early stages of their journey are just now realizing they have a problem or desire. They don’t know what they really need to solve this problem—they only know something’s off in their perfectly status quo world.

They don’t yet know you, and they’re not ready to buy—so your TOFU content shouldn’t be pushy. Instead, your stories at this phase should build trust and emotional connection.

Your job here isn’t to sell, it’s to attract. You want your audience thinking, “That’s me. I’ve felt that. This person understands what I’m going through.”

Stories here should be:

• Relatable: Stories that mirror the beginning of your customer’s journey and make them feel seen. Stories that make them feel like you get their pain at a deep level.
• Audience-centric: They don’t know you yet. So even if you’re telling your own story, frame it around their experience: “You might have felt this too.”
• Curiosity inducing: Think of TOFU content like pulling back the curtain on the rest of your world. It should an invitation to go deeper—so how are you opening loops and making them curious to learn more?
• Hinting at the truth: Let the reader see the consequences of staying caught in their misbelief (“I thought working harder would fix it”), but don’t push them too hard. Save the full truth for your middle-of-funnel stories.
• Desire-focused: Remember the need/desire dichotomy? Your customer probably doesn’t know what they need just yet—so stay focused on talking to their desire, and using the language they use to describe their problem.

We’ll dig into all these topics in more depth throughout this funnel series, but for now let me leave you with a few examples of TOFU stories to help you brainstorm ones you can start using today in your marketing.

Origin stories→ How you discovered the problem or pain your audience now faces.

Everyday anecdotes→ Small, human stories that illustrate a common frustration or “aha” moment.

Relatable confessions→ Times you followed the same misbelief they currently hold.

Observation stories→ Something you noticed in your industry or life that perfectly captures your audience’s struggle.

Customer reflection stories→ A moment before a client’s transformation, when they were still stuck.

Pick one of these categories, set a timer for 5 minutes, and brainstorm as many potential ideas as you can.

Talk soon!

Jessie