Negative Blog Comments Are Not a Bad Thing

Anyone who has a blog knows that the more visitors you get, the
more common negative comments will become. Even if you
normally don't bother about what others think of you, sometimes
these comments can be very hurtful. Just step back for a minute
before you respond and take time to think. Here are some tips to
help you keep your sanity and make full claim on your blog.

Your Blog Is A Public Place. Yes, people should respect your home
turf; it is your blog, your rules and all that. But you really shouldn't
be surprised to receive attacks and criticisms. One of the most
powerful things about blogs is its social nature and few people get
that.

If you can't bear to receive anything negative (true or not) then
you don't need a blog. You need a private fan club.

Respond to the comment. No matter how difficult, you should
acknowledge and respond to the nasty comment. Keeping silent is
simply sweeping the problem under the carpet and that person is
not going away until you deal with them.

Respond calmly even when you feel nothing close to calm. You may
need some time to cool off and really think about your response
before blindly raging ahead with an inappropriate response.

Ask yourself if you can learn from them. While you're taking time to
calm yourself down, think it through. Does what that person say
have merit? Sometimes we may believe so strongly about
something it's easy to say "They're wrong and I'm right" but think
about it seriously, are they really wrong or are you just letting your
pride and emotions get in the way?

If you are right, there's always something you can learn from the
situation. For one, do not behave like that when you comment on
other people's blog.

Make your response a gracious one. Be sure you don't respond in
anger, it will only make you look petty. Respond in a polite and
reasonable manner and you will be shown as a mature blog owner
who cannot be pushed around by someone trying to stir up
controversy on your blog.

Choose your words carefully and be judicious. There's a world of
difference between saying "I'm tired of you attacking my blog,
leave me alone and go away" and "I'm sorry you feel that way. I
stand by my decision but can understand where you're coming
from."

If you get one person who comments, you can be sure there are
plenty more who read but didn't comment. Even though they may
not leave their calling card behind, you should know there are
more readers than people who comment and it's the readers you
want to keep on your side. So, if you tell people to go away as in
the example above, they might really leave and never come back.

There's no need to reciprocate an attack. Doing so only makes you
look like you condone bad behavior and more than willing to get
into a fight with anyone who doesn't agree with you.

Your blog is something you should be proud to say represents you
and your business so you want to make sure to keep petty fights
or arguments far away, no matter who actually started it. When
your readers who post positive comments visit they don't want to
see silly arguments, they're interested in a quality blog so that
means you must always stay professional. Think of anyone making
comments as your potential business partners or customers. They
may even respect you for bring a positive light to what they had to
say.

by:Lynette Chandler