How to Deal with Criticism And The Different Types of Critics

January 16, 2011 by Daniel Sharkov|

Blogs are mainly surrounded by a friendly community of like-minded individuals. They are a powerful way for building relationships and making friends. We all know this and I’ve probably said it dozens of times before. On the other hand everyone who is blogging for more than a month or two has most likely come across a phenomenon called criticism.

That is not at all something new in our lives. Most people probably met it as early as in their childhood. And it didn’t come with bad intentions at all. In fact it was meant to protect us from making mistakes or help us stop doing them. Although sometimes a similar story, being criticized is a bit different when it comes to blogging.

From my blogging experience of over five months I can divide blog critics into three main categories:

The Unsuccessful Hater
– Undoubtedly the worst type of critics you can come across. In most cases those are the lazy ones – bloggers (if they can even be called so) who have tried all types of ways to minimize their efforts and make cash on ‘autopilot’. Instead of putting efforts and reaping the benefits in the end, they have wasted tons of cash on systems that never work. All in all their main motivator to criticize is envy. The Guy who Actually Wants to Help You
– Criticism is not always a bad thing. There are basically two types of it – constructive criticism and criticism just for the sake of it. Yes, we are talking about the first one in that case. There’s not much to say about those types of folks. Their words might not always seem positive but they are actually trying to help. The Plain Pessimist
- The concept here is a bit different from the two previous categories. Those are the guys who always do their best to find even the smallest flaws in the system. They just fail to see the good even when it outshines the bad by a lot. If asked they probably won’t be able to give you a good reason for their criticism. They are the true embodiment of criticism just for the sake of it.

Overall whatever you say about them, I doubt that many like those critics’. No matter what their intention, who wouldn’t prefer a positive comment instead! Now that you know the different types of critics, you would probably want to know what to do when you stumble upon them. That’s exactly the purpose of the next few paragraphs. Stick around!

Look Through Their Perspective First

Your initial reaction when you see a comment of that kind would be to delete it. Not so fast! Take a minute or two to rethink the whole situation. The first thing that comes to your mind is not always what you really need to do. The criticism might not seem justifiable from your point of view, but remember that outside visitors often have a better overlook. After all the blog is yours and you are not totally unbiased, while for a random critic it’s the opposite.

Always Reply Politely

When there is nothing to back up the words of criticism thrown at you, emotions might try to take over. Don’t let them! A rude reply is only going to make things worse. It shows that you just can’t handle the situation. And that can have a big negative impact on the way people look at you. Ignoring the comment is not a good solution as well. So take a deep breath, relax, go there and say why you don’t agree – politely. Nothing more!

Removing Negative Comments is a No-No

Keep in mind that the difference between a spam comment and a negative one is huge. The first doesn’t add any value to the discussion and its main purpose is in most cases a free backlink. Negative comments on the other hand can be a great way to keep the discussion going. As long as no profanity is involved, you should keep those comments intact. Everyone has an opinion and whether positive or not he must be free to express it.

Have you ever been criticized? If so, which type of critic have you come across? Share your ways of dealing with criticism – what to do and what not to do!

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