At some point in your blogging career, there’s a good chance you’ll receive a negative comment or two. How do you handle these comments in a professional way? Let’s dive in.
Whether someone’s just having a bad day or is a bad person, some peopel can’t help but share their opinion online with others. Some people loves criticizing others, correcting their tiny mistakes, or just being an online jerk. It’s a fact of life, and putting yourself out there online opens you up to all sorts of negative feedback, criticism, and nasty words.
While you can’t control what people say, you can control how you react to it. In fact, a professional and courteous response could even help boost your image in the eyes of your audience.
Handling negative comments on your blog can be challenging, but it’s a necessary part of running a successful blog or social media page. Here are some tips for dealing with negative comments.
Stay calm: It’s natural to feel defensive or upset when you receive negative comments, but keep cool and stay calm. Take a breather if you must and by all means, avoid responding in anger!
Evaluate the comment: Step away from your computer or device for at least 10 minutes to give yourself time to process. Take the time to evaluate the comment and determine if it’s constructive criticism or simply a rude or irrelevant comment.
Respond professionally: If the comment is constructive criticism, respond professionally and thank the commenter for their feedback. Use this as an opportunity to engage with your audience and improve your content and blog.
Delete inappropriate comments: If the comment is rude, offensive, or spammy, consider deleting it. It’s your blog, and you have the right to control the conversation on it.
Set clear comment guidelines: Setting clear guidelines for comments on your blog can help prevent negative comments in the first place. Make sure your guidelines are clear and enforce them consistently.
Use moderation tools: Many blogging platforms offer moderation tools that allow you to review and approve comments before they are published. This can help you avoid inappropriate or offensive comments.
Don’t engage with trolls: Some commenters may be looking to start an argument or provoke a response. Don’t engage with trolls or give them the attention they are seeking.
Remember, negative comments are a natural part of blogging and online publishing, so your best bet is to handle them professionally and constructively. At the end of the day, you don’t need to publish a negative comment if you don’t want to. On social media, it’s tougher to police what people say, so your best bet is to just respond politely or not at all.