July 13, 2005

How To Deal With Negative Comments

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 11:10 pm

From: D. Keith Robinson

Commenting and discussion, to me anyway, are the “killer feature” of most blogs. They”re what make the medium special and different. Blogging is best when it’s a two way discussion.

Most bloggers who allow commenting, at one time or another, will have to deal with negative feedback. Sometimes this comes in the form of comments. It’s inevitable and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

I’ve gotten my share of disparaging comments and I know how bad it can make you feel. I remember a time I worked my ass off for what I thought was a great, very well thought-out post with a positive message. I thought for sure I’d have a great discussion and that my readers would really jive with my message. I was wrong and I was inundated with negative comments. It really upset me, but in the end it turned out to be a positive, educational experience.

Over the years I’ve thought quite a bit about how to handle negative comments and I think I’ve got some great tips that might be of help to y’all.

  • Read and understand. Make sure you really understand what is being said. It’s easy to read something negative and jump in with a response that might not be as informed as it should be. That just causes more trouble.
  • Learn from it. Sometimes you’ll get a negative post because you were wrong. Take it as an educational experience.
  • Don’t get defensive. This just makes matters worse. Take a step back and try to be objective. Thing long and hard before you respond to negative feedback.
  • Ignore trolls. Do not engage in a discussion with someone who is just looking for a fight. Ignore the comment, or delete it if you feel comfortable with doing that.
  • Post your comment policy. Let people know if there is are types of comments you don’t want to see. For example, if you don’t want off-topic comments, let your readers know.
  • Respond with kindness and a willingness to understand. I don’t know how many times I’;ve turned a bad comment into a good one by simply trying to understand the point of view being offered and taking a positive attitude.
  • Admit when you are wrong. Your readers will actually respect you more if you acknowledge your mistakes. We all make them, don’t beat yourself up over it.
  • Don’t take it personally. Sometimes it may seem like a negative comment is a personal attack, but this is often not the case.
  • Take it offline. I’ve found that engaging in an e-mail conversation with someone who I’m butting heads with is very helpful in resolving the situation.
  • Use self-deprecating humor. Let’s face it. If you have a blog that you post to with any frequency there are going to be times when you screw up. Sometimes this can actually be pretty darn funny if you can take a step back and look at it through another’s eyes. Take teasing from your readers with a grain of salt and if you can’t beat ‘em–join ‘em.
  • Realize before you hit “post” that it’s a big world out there and you’re not going to please everyone every-time.

Related articles:
Leaving a Guy a Place to Stand
Great Find: Commenting on CTBizBlogs
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies

Share This


Filed under Audience, Comments, Guest Writer, Successful Blog, Survival Kit |



C'mon. Let's talk!

13 Comments to “How To Deal With Negative Comments”

  1. October 10th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
    Jonathan Snook said

    I wrote a little “how-to” article on my site a couple years back (back before it was really a “blog” and kind of forgot about it. One day somebody actually made a comment on it but it was severely harsh. I actually contemplating deleting it. Instead, I left it. When writing a blog, you have to leave yourself open like that. And in the end, I’m glad I did as every comment after that has been very positive.

  2. March 30th, 2006 at 10:07 pm
    Simply Good - Janice Myint At Technorati » Simplenomics said

    [...] I’ve been fighting for my blogging existance with Technorati for over 2 weeks. Tonight, after reading and responding with several comments to a post at Successful Blog, I found one of the best Go-To people I’ve ever had the pleasure to do business with, as far as the blogosphere goes. [...]

  3. April 16th, 2006 at 8:14 am
    Successful Blog - An Open Thought: Please Take the Keys said

    [...] Last night, Gary paid me a stellar compliment for the whole world to see in two separate places. Wow, it was such a cool gesture, on so many levels, and totally unexpected. After a certain age, unexpected surprises aren’t usually good, so that made it even better. [...]

  4. May 6th, 2006 at 7:17 am
    Small Office Herald is Leaking! | SmallOfficeHerald said

    [...] My good blog friend, Liz Strauss of Succesful Blog jumped on board - Are YOU in on the Link Leak Project. And it all started with Easton Ellsworth from Know More Media’s BlogBusinessWire - err, sorry: link leak virus and his shout out for a Blogtipping day on the 1st of each month, starting recently on May 1st. [...]

  5. May 6th, 2006 at 10:32 am
    ME Strauss said

    Thanks Martin.

  6. May 7th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
    Successful Blog - Dear Wikipedia . . . said

    [...] Related articles Link Leak Epidemic Spreads Powerful Link Love The comments where the link is announced Technorati Tags: Link Leak link leak virus Martin Neumann Wikipedia [...]

  7. August 22nd, 2007 at 10:35 pm
    Top 5 Confidence Corruptor | The Tao of Blogging to Wealth said

    [...] How to Deal with Negative Comments [...]

  8. August 29th, 2007 at 3:51 am
    bruski89 said

    I generally find that negative comments are more telling and helpful than positive comments. Comments like ‘very nice blog” or “cool pics” are great to see but don’t give you any constructive criticism. I work in a field where feedback, positive and negative, is necessary in terms of maximal output. I think this applies as much to the web as to the real world. You should not hold back from writing a blog just because you are afraid of negative comments.It is much better to regret something you have done than something that was never ventured. Even the best bloggers have to deal with negative comments.

  9. August 29th, 2007 at 7:01 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Bruski89!
    Welcome!
    I guess it would all depend on how one defines “negative comments.” People who disagree are often helpful in opening up new thoughts and ideas . . . that seems to be what you are talking about. I’m with you on that. “Cool pix” and “great post” don’t add much to the conversation, though often they are meant to let the writer know that the reader has some appreciation of the work, which shouldn’t be brushed off either.

    Negative comments that are meant only to stir the pot or cause argument I just don’t have time for.

  10. November 29th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
    المشروع » كيف تتعامل مع تعليق الزائر said

    [...] قليل كنت أقرأ مقالة How To Deal With Negative Comments، المقالة مهمة جداً لأصحاب المدونات، قدم الكاتب فيها [...]

  11. April 11th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
    Dexter said

    Hi, Google something on “negative comments” and up came your site. My site is currently being plagued with many negative comments and even comments that do not make sense at all. Like to let you know, this post really helps me to take things easily and look on the bright side. Also good to see that many are posting good comments on your blog! You are a good role model to learn from!

  12. April 12th, 2008 at 6:46 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Dexter,
    People have so many reasons for why they do things. Their reasons rarely have very much to do with us.

  13. April 28th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
    imaginearea said

    I wrote a poem entitled ‘Teenagers’ a few days ago. It was the first poem I had ever written. I was completely unprepared for some of the negative comments I received.

    I am not against negative comments but abusive negative comments can feel really painful.

    After getting over my initial shock I realised that these comments were actually doing me a favour…they created a heated debate between those who loved my poem and those who didn’t…this led to much more traffic to my article than I would have got if all the comments were positive.

    In short, I know I must develop a thick skin to protect me from the abusive comments but I must also see all comments as much needed PUBLICITY for my work.

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

C'mon Let's Talk!