The bigger you get and the more readers you acquire, the more criticism you are going to have to deal with. How you handle criticism can win or lose you the respect of readers who are yet to decide if they are loyal. Every blogger who has achieved a reasonable-sized readership will have dealt with critics at some point. You can’t please everybody. As a journalist and former magazine columnist, I’ve had my fair of share criticism, which often manifests itself in the form of hate mail.

Learn from your mistakes

It’s important not to be stubborn when people disagree with what you do or say. Anthony from Blogging Dosh is a prime offender here. He was outed by both John Chow and Cash Quests for being a bit shady. He could have turned it around if he had had the sense to back down and appease the situation, but he didn’t. His response post, since removed, was aggressive and showed an unwillingness to want to restore peace.

Even the most heinous acts can be redeemed in a lot of people’s eyes with a simple, “I’m sorry.” If you are going to stand your ground and defend your position, there has to be a bit of give and take.

Let your readers do the work for you

Once you get yourself into a position where you have a few loyal readers, these are the people who will have your back during times of debate. Reward these readers often with mentions and kind words, emails and recognition, and when the time comes, they will stand up and tell the world you’re not so bad. Never take these readers for granted.

Think before you write

If a situation heats up, don’t write impulsively. Take 10 minutes, grab a Diet Coke and think about what you are going to say. You can’t retract comments without losing credibility, so it pays to think your responses out as they can make or break your reputation. Anger is an unwanted quality in a blogger.

Don’t be too lengthy in your responses

If someone has got you really wound up, there’s no need to justify yourself with paragraph after paragraph. It can give the impression of a blogger uncertain of his or her position if you ramble on and on about why you are right and other people are wrong. Keep it short, snappy and ot the point.

Avoid being childish

It’s a real turn off when big bloggers react to critics by either insulting them (directly or indirectly) or boasting about why they are big bloggers to end an argument. It looks needlessly aggressive and can upset the wrong people. Don’t abuse your position by using it as a weapon. Getting personal is another route to avoid.

Listen to your critics, because you can often learn from what they say. A lot of bloggers tarnish their reputations by becoming unnecessarily angry at criticism. And remember, just because one person lashes out against one of your posts doesn’t mean they will do the same for the next post. Don’t hold grudges because a new days begins each morning.

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Tags: Tips and tricks //