One of the ways of knowing how ‘active’ a blog really is, is
by looking at the amount of comments and feedback that it gets. Comments
contribute to your blogging success.
As a blogger, you should always encourage people to
post comments on your blog and your posts, encourage people to have their say, chip
in with their own thoughts, and chip in with their own opinions and views.
Comments promote community, interactivity, discussion and
debate on your blog. They take the discussion forward, and add value to it.
But perhaps most importantly, comments are a sign of
activity, and the fact that your blog is active, gets visitors and traffic and
encourages people to leave feedback.
Posts with comments will tend to leave a great impression on
new visitors, for instance, as opposed to a blog with no user-based activity
that simply looks like a ‘ghost-town’.
Don’t however expect everyone to leave positive comments. As
much as you would like for that to be true, it isn’t. The fact of the matter is
that not everyone will agree with your point-of-view, and your blog will get
negative comments and feedback from time to time (welcome to the internet!).
It is vital to know how to deal with such comments, as it can
make or break your, you blog’s, your business’s and brand’s online reputation. Yes,
it is easy to get upset or offended when someone posts a negative comment, but
knowing how to deal with it when this happens can make all the difference in
the world.
But some ground rules first: People will troll you, be
disrespectful, insulting /and downright offensive. It is important to never get
into a flame-war with any of your visitors, because ultimately, that will end
up damaging your online reputation the most.
The first rule is to respond to all comments politely,
calmly and in a courteous manner – and yes that includes negative comments as
well. Or not responding to the comments at all. But if do, it is always
important to keep your cool, and respond in a civil manner. Rule number 1 right
there folks!
Another important thing: ALWAYS refrain from
responding to negative comments immediately. Human beings have the tendency to say
harsh things in the heat of the moment or in an emotional state of mind, and doing
so could see you end up considerably damaging your standing. Give yourself some
time – at the very least a few hours – before responding to such comments.
Remember that you have the choice to simply walk away and
not ‘feed the troll’ at all.
Adversely, it might be not be such a good idea to simply
ignore such comments, or delete them. Doing so might force unsatisfied readers
into voicing their displeasure in a much stronger manner, or perhaps take it
somewhere much more public.
Besides, responding to negative comments (in a civil manner)
clears up any misconceptions and generally leaves a good impression on your
visitors, and of course (depending on the nature of such comments) it might
also clear up your name and reputation. Responding to all comments – negative
or positive – is good for customer service.
Try looking at the comments from a neutral perspective. Are
they really totally unfounded, baseless, and simply troll comments, or do they
have a hint of truth? Does the commenter in question have a point? Is the
comment constructive in any way whatsoever? Respond positively by thanking the
said person for his constructive criticism, and use this criticism – no matter
how harsh it might really be – to improve your blog.
As human beings, we are error-prone. Bloggers make mistakes
all the time, and if you’ve done so and someone’s called you to it in the
comments section, own up to it. Apologize, and acknowledge and correct the
mistake, and thank the said person for bringing it to your notice.
In addition, if a comment is inaccurate (factually or
otherwise), and you have proof, go ahead and prove your innocence – but with
hard facts. Do it in a polite manner.
Remember that you might have misjudged the tone and the
meaning of the content, since any interaction over the internet (or text-based
interaction for that matter), does not include the element of body language or
tone. Therefore things can easily be taken out of context or misjudged.
NEVER argue back! Goes in real life, and is equally
applicable on the internet as well! An argument with someone on the internet
(aka. a flame-war) will be almost always be counterproductive, and an exercise
in futility.
Never respond with something like ‘it’s my blog so I’ll say
what I want to’. Yes, it might be your blog, but remember that it’s a free
world and it’s the internet; if you have the right to ‘say what you want to’ then
so do the people on the internet.
At the end of the day, it might be okay to ‘agree to
disagree’. Acknowledge his comment and thank him for taking time out to post
one on your blog.
In extreme cases – such as then someone incessantly spams
your blog or trolls the comments section, don’t be afraid to use the mighty
‘banhammer’! Wordpress and other popular blogging tools make it very easy to
ban users and IP addresses, so if it comes to that, don’t be afraid to use it.
The general principle on the internet, when it comes to
comments, is to (a) avoid any sort of confrontation that might be damaging or
harmful to your repute, (b) give yourself time, in order to rationally and
neutrally respond to negative comments, (c) be courteous and polite to all your
visitors, (d) reassess the situation to determine if you might’ve misjudged it,
and (e) never feed the trolls.
