How to Handle Criticism on Your Blog
You suck. Your blog sucks. Your writing skills suck. Your opinions suck too.
If you’re a blogger, you’re bound to get a comment or two that mirrors the sentiments above. Criticism is just part of the territory of being a blogger. How well you’re able to handle it will determine how successful you are at blogging.
So, what should you do whenever someone leaves a critical comment on your blog? Here are some positive ways you can handle the situation.
1. Realize that you can’t please everybody—It’s a simple fact of life: you can’t please everybody. Not everyone is going to like what you’re saying in your blog. And you know what? That’s a good thing. If we all had the same opinions, this would be a pretty boring place, don’t you think? And if you aren’t getting any criticism on your blog, it probably means you’re playing it very safe and not truly saying anything memorable or important. Voice your opinions, and if someone doesn’t like it, too bad for them. The sooner you stop trying to please everyone, the sooner you’ll become a better blogger.
2. Don’t get your feelings hurt—Whenever someone tells you that they think your post sucks, it’s only natural to get your feelings hurt. But don’t fall into this trap of self-pity. Chances are, the commenter doesn’t have anything against you personally; they just don’t agree with your opinions. The simple truth is you need to have a thick skin if you’re going to put yourself out there as a blogger. Otherwise, you’ll end up running away and giving up at the first sign of conflict.
3. Listen to what the critic is really saying—Assuming the critic says something more than “you suck”, you need to examine their comment to see what they’re really saying. This means you need to stop being defensive for a few seconds to truly understand the point they’re trying to make. Why are they disagreeing with you? Does their argument have any merit (be honest with yourself)? By understanding the true point the commenter is making, you can better respect their opinion and maybe even learn something from the critic.
4. Don’t engage trolls—The internet is full of trolls. These are anonymous losers who go around simply trying to stir things up. You can usually tell if someone is a troll if their comment doesn’t really have a point beyond saying something along the lines of “you suck.” Don’t engage people like this. That’s why they want. The quickest way to get rid of a troll is to simply ignore them. Or, you could pull a Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and travel around the country beating up online trolls.
How do you handle criticism on your blog? Share your best tips in the replies!
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
the only criticism that i got was when some one told me that i suck and am a gay, i tried my best to examine and realized that it was just a random spam, with a enhancement thing on their link…
nice post though
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I don’t worry too much about critical comments. I delete the stupid ones. Others I leave online and act on those with an alternative point of view or any constructive criticism.
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