Negative Impact
How to deal with negative comments
By Phoebe Montague of Lady Melbourne

Commenting and discussion are two of the most important tools when you are trying to run a successful blog. They’re what make blogging unique, and can be most successful when they provoke a two-way discussion.

At one time or another most bloggers will have to deal with negative feedback. Sometimes this comes in the form of comments or it can be in e-mail form.

It’s inevitable the longer you are at it, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

I’ve gotten my share of negative comments and I know how dreadful it can make you feel. I remember working on a post that I thought was well thought out and interesting and was shocked when it garnered negative feedback.

It really upset me, but in the end it turned out to be a positive, educational experience.

In the three years I’ve been blogging I’ve thought about how to handle negative comments and I think I’ve got some great tips that might be of help.

• Do not engage in a discussion with someone who is just looking for a fight or is being negative for negative sake. Ignore the comment, or delete it.
• Make sure you really understand what is being said. It’s easy to read something negative and jump to the conclusion that it is a personal attack when in fact it may not be.
• Learn from it. Sometimes you’ll get a negative post because you were wrong. Take it on board as a learning experience.
• Take some time before you respond to negative feedback. Don’t get defensive as this only makes matters worse. Take a step back and try to be objective.
• Respond with kindness and a willingness to understand. Unless they are being unreasonable, try to understand the point of view being offered and take a positive attitude.
• Admit when you are wrong. Your readers will actually respect you more if you acknowledge your mistakes.
• Don’t take it personally. Sometimes it may seem like a negative comment is a personal attack, but this is often not the case.
• Realise that before you publish, it’s a big wide world out there and you’re not going to please everyone, every-time.

If you have a topic you would like covered, simply send me e-mail and I’ll do my best to cover it off.
Happy blogging!

Lady Melbourne
You can check out Lady Melbourne’s blog at www.ladymelbourne.com.au