Secrets of (book) promotion, visibility, and online success

Find your voice, build, and engage an audience.

Most authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs are troubled when it comes to selling. They know their book, product, or service is awesome, yet they feel ‘cheesy’ or too aggressive when trying to market it.

They don’t realize that by holding back, they are depriving the world of their gift, their message, their way to help or entertain others.

As a writer, speaker, and entrepreneur I want to have the same impact online as I have in real life. But it’s not that easy.

Book promotion and visibility

I see many authors, entrepreneurs, and people with an important message struggle and losing a lot of business because they don’t know what to do. They imagine there’s this huge secret they don’t know and they admire and envy other successful authors or entrepreneurs for their success.

So what’s the secret? Well, from my experience as a published author, social media influencer, and from having been featured in the media over 500 times, the secret is in fact to be authentic. And that doesn’t mean talking a lot about yourself, but to only offer real added value to your audience in everything you do and write.

Loyal followers

Sometimes I get a nice email from somebody who has been following me for over 15 years. When this happens, I think about how exceptional it actually is to have a loyal group of followers for over 20 years.

Why would people want to stay connected for so long? What do I do online (or what don’t I do?) that makes people trust me and want to engage?

Somehow I have built a following that defies all ‘models’ that are being taught in those online courses by those famous sales guru’s. I had never really thought about it, but I guess that my ‘secret recipe’ is just me being ME. Offline and online. I don’t aim for sales, I don’t go for fast results; I build relationships.

The secret of my online success

I learned how to generate free publicity long before the digital age. Nowadays it is a lot easier to SHARE content because of the technology we use, but the need for GOOD content comes first in my opinion.

In the days before internet journalists were the gatekeepers: they decided if a story was good enough to publish. I learned how they think and what they look for. That knowledge translated to the current digital world makes a HUGE difference.

The secret is to find your added value in daily life and to translate it into interesting content for your followers. To make it personal, but not too much about yourself. To find ‘hooks’ in the media & current affairs and to link these to your content and expertise. Most of all to ALWAYS offer real added value to your audience. And finally to do that in your own voice, your own way, to be authentic, to be you.

Difficult? Not if you know how to do it. 🙂

Are you serious about writing your book?

Don’t reinvent the wheel, like I did. As the author and co-author of more than 30 books, writing coach for hundreds of people and organizer of 30 writing retreats, I have finally found the best system for writing a good book: the ‘Reverse Writing’ method. If you begin at the end and create a good structure before you start writing, you will be able to follow your energy, instead of the page numbers.

Learn all tips & tricks in the ‘idea to book’ workshop

Everything you need to turn your idea into a bestseller: practical advice, examples, and inspiration about writing, publishing, and promoting your book. Check out the ‘from idea to book’ workshop.

werboek back front cover - Why you should start promoting your book while you're writing it

Personal guidance

I have trained a GPT with all my book writing knowledge, to help you get started, answer your questions and give feedback on your writing. Try out EstherAI for free!

Prefer personal 1 on 1 coaching? Private writing coaching is a unique opportunity to work on your book with my personal guidance and support. Book a single strategy session or plan a series of 1-on-1 calls. Do you want the best for your book?

A writing retreat in an exotic location?

During the online writing retreat@home or an all-inclusive retreat in one of my favorite locations, you will work with like-minded people and get 1-on-1 guidance. The daily workshops help to get started, followed by focused writing time, delicious food, and personal guidance & feedback. Where will we go?

The book ‘Reverse Writing’

Learn my Reverse Writing method (start with the back cover) in my super-comprehensive book ‘Reverse Writing’ and the companion workbook. You will find a step-by-step explanation, lots of examples, inspiration, and practical tips about writing, promotion, and publishing your book.

Original ideas and proven formats for your next bestseller

A successful book starts with a good idea. Check out the 10 best ‘formulas’ I’ve found for successful non-fiction books. Each of these ten proven formats gives you a different perspective, inspiration, and examples you can adapt for your own book. Subscribe to my ‘interested in writing’ list for book inspiration & tips and immediately receive the PDF with 10 ideas for a successful non-fiction book.