Marketing with Fervor: A Conversation with Ruth Tisdale
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Ruth Tisdale, Executive Director of Two Lines Pregnancy Clinic (formerly Advice & Aid Pregnancy Centers), about her experience with Marketing with Fervor, a marketing guide tailored for mission-driven organizations. Here’s what she shared about how the book helped reshape her organization’s marketing approach.
Can you introduce yourself and share what makes Marketing with Fervor meaningful for you?
Ruth: I’m Ruth Tisdale, Executive Director of Two Lines Pregnancy Clinic. I started working with Fervor about a year and a half ago because we wanted to reevaluate our marketing strategy. We needed fresh eyes, someone outside our industry who could bring a new perspective. That’s what made this book particularly meaningful to me: it comes from a place that isn’t entrenched in the typical pregnancy resource center space, so it offered fresh ideas and insights.
How would you describe the book to your organization’s audience?
Marketing with Fervor is an easy read and a practical tool. Once you’ve gone through it, you can revisit sections to remind yourself of key principles. The book breaks down marketing in a clear and approachable way. It’s thought-provoking, yet straightforward — offering solid guidelines that you can implement step-by-step.
Can you share a personal experience where the book’s framework helped or could have helped your organization?
It was really helpful to revisit the framework as we reflected on past projects. The book helped me understand the rationale behind the marketing decisions we made. In our world — pregnancy resource centers — we don’t usually have the budget to hire big marketing firms. This book is a perfect fit because it’s so accessible and easy to follow. If you have team members with an eye for marketing, you can use this book to make meaningful improvements one step at a time, without breaking the bank.
What makes Marketing with Fervor stand out compared to other marketing or faith-based books?
I really appreciated the story behind the name “Fervor” and how the founder Mike felt called by the Lord to shift from corporate marketing to ministry-focused influence. One particular concept that stuck with me was the distinction between advocacy and appreciation. You can have many fans, but advocacy comes from people who truly own your mission — those who have been transformed by your organization and will actively advocate for it. That insight really resonated with me in my role.
In a few sentences, how do you feel about the book overall and its relevance to nonprofit organizations like yours?
Our work is unique because the people we try to reach don’t necessarily want what we offer. This book helped us identify different “Ideal Advocates,” which is critical in our space. Naming these advocates and crafting specific messages for them gave us much-needed focus. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to speak to everyone, but this book helped us create boundaries and target our communication more effectively.
Any final thoughts or something important we didn’t ask?
One of the most valuable parts was how Mike distinguishes purpose and promise from vision and mission. Fervor helped us articulate our purpose and promise so clearly that it’s now part of our daily conversations. We even name our ideal advocates as part of that practice. The homework assignments in the book are simple but powerful — things you can do yourself without needing outside help.
Also, the idea that “our marketing wasn’t living up to our impact” really hit home. We pour so much into serving our clients and staff that marketing sometimes gets neglected. This book and our work with Fervor have helped us elevate our marketing to match the excellence of our actual impact. Now, when people find us online, their experience aligns with what they encounter in person.
Thanks to Ruth for sharing her insights! If you’re in the nonprofit world and want a fresh, practical take on marketing that’s doable even on a tight budget, Marketing with Fervor might just be the guide you need.