A successful blogger (who’s not a native speaker) shares her enchanting story

Can you write sparkling English when it’s not your first language?

Yes, you can.

And here's the proof.

Henneke Duistermaat is a successful and well-known blogger. She’s a copywriter and marketer who helps business people improve their writing in English.

Which isn’t her native language. 

Impressive.

After discovering Henneke’s blog featuring the delightful Henrietta, I read her book and took her course. All are fabulous.

Henneke’s writing dazzles and is jam-packed with ideas, advice, and encouragement.

Of course I was curious to know how she’d done it, and was thrilled when Henneke agreed to describe her journey.

Get ready to be inspired.

How do you now feel about writing in English?

I love writing in English. I feel more creative in English (my second language) than in Dutch (my native language). I give myself more freedom in English to play with different words. I like my writing voice better in English than in Dutch.

Nowadays, when I write, I think in English, so somehow writing in Dutch has become more difficult, too.

Why did you start writing in English?

I originally started writing in English because I worked at an international company so I had to write in English. Later on, I moved to the UK and English became my main language (although my husband is Dutch and we speak Dutch at home).

When I started my blog Enchanting Marketing in November 2012, it felt logical to write in English. Writing in English also gives me an opportunity to reach a bigger audience. I get readers from all around the world, and my main audience is North American. I love this part of blogging and running an online business – that I can connect with so many people all over the world.

What was the hardest thing about writing in English?

When I moved to the UK, I found that I often didn’t write proper English. For instance, I might have used a slightly odd order of phrases or my grammar would be slightly wrong. Also, words like with, in, on, into are difficult to get right. They’re often different from Dutch.

How did you overcome this? 

I probably learned most from having native speakers correct my writing. Also, I read a lot, which helps me improve my vocabulary and makes my sentence structure feel more natural.

What else is hard?

Sometimes, I still find it hard to find the right word in English. I can spend time going back and forth between a thesaurus and a dictionary to make sure I express myself precisely. I enjoy learning new words and making sure I use the right word in the right context.

Sometimes I use words that surprise even native English speakers. For instance, I once came across the word “snackable.” This word isn’t in all dictionaries, but its meaning is instantly clear (easy to consume in small portions). I liked the idea of snackable so much, that I decided to create a Snackable Writing Course for Busy People – these are short emails with writing tips. It’s been popular!

What’s your advice for others who need to write in English? 

At school, I wasn’t that good in English. It was, together with Dutch, my worst subject. Also, as a young kid, I was once made fun of by a teacher in front of the whole class because I mispronounced an English word.

So, writing and speaking in English didn’t come easily to me. It made me nervous.

However, we can all learn and get better … I’m now teaching copywriting and blog writing to business people, and most of my course participants are native English speakers. I would have never dreamt that was possible.

One thing I learned is that no one’s English is perfect. Even native speakers don’t get their grammar always right. So never be afraid to make mistakes.

If you want to communicate and connect with people in English, go for it.

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