Luckily here at Zanita Studio, we don’t get many, if any, negative blog comments, but I know of many bloggers who do, and it’s not a good feeling.
Who cyber bullies anymore anyway?
Even if you’re not getting pummeled directly with negative feedback left and right, you need to be aware that you most likely will experience some form of hate if you’ve been in the blogging game and especially if you plan on staying.
It may be a back-handed compliment on one of your blog posts or a passive aggressive comment on Instagram, but it will show up and it will hurt only as much as you let it, so just keep that in mind. Here’s what I recommend you do to deal with those negative blog comments:
Assess the degree of damage.
Who is this person and what is she saying? Is this a jealous comment or is there some truth behind it? Did you say something first?
Usually, when you get hate comments, it has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the other person…(usually). So the first thing you want to do is figure out what’s happening and why.
If you’re on the path to blogging as a business and you acquire clients or customers, and one of them leaves you a bad review, then you most likely want to get to the root of the problem and see if the relationship is salvageable.
“The customer is always right” applies here, unfortunately.
Of course, there will be times when someone is just downright rude and off their rocker, and if that’s the case, the damage is too bad to be repaired, so it’s best to let it go like Frozen.
What do you want to happen?
After you find the root of the problem, you want to decide what you want the outcome to be. Do you want to fix the problem? Do you want to have the last word? Do you want to maintain your reputation?
The problem with trying to fix a problem is that sometimes it results in being a people pleaser in which case everyone is pleased except you. Not everyone is going to love you, or even like you for that matter. There will be some people you’ll come across in blogging who will never like you no matter how hard you work.
Our natural reaction when we receive negative blog comments is to fight back and defend ourselves because after all, our blog is our baby. But if we go that route, we sink to the other person’s level and the digital world gets a front row seat.
This is the time to be proactive and use your best judgment, not your snap judgement.
When it doubt, say nothing.
Once you’ve run through the different scenarios as to what’s happening and why and you still don’t know what to do, do nothing. Now in my head, I initially think, “Well I have to say something - I have to have the last word - I have to win!”, but sinking to a negative person’s level is a loss in itself.
Think about how you feel when someone doesn’t acknowledge you… it sucks! Like when your friends don’t text you back, or a date doesn’t say anything after you, or a blogger doesn’t respond to your comment, you start to question your motives in the first place, and you get more and more frustrated.
Silence is the best killer. Seriously, it makes people so outrageous when you don’t acknowledge their negativity because misery loves company. Stay in control by not saying a word.
How do you handle negative blog comments? We want to hear your story.
xx Britt
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How to Handle Change That’s Out of Your Control
The Key to Confidence When Putting Yourself Out There
How to Fight FOMO & Other Things Holding You Back from Success
