This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission on sales generated through such links. Read my FTC disclaimer for more information.
Whether you have had negative reviews, negative blog comments, negative messages or negative emails, it can be upsetting to received negative feedback. How do you deal with negative feedback? There may be no right or wrong answer but here is what I think about how to deal with negative feedback.
Much like any business, a blog is also susceptible to negative feedback. The other day I received a very intense and lengthly negative comment on one of my blog posts on All Natural & Good. This is what prompted me to want to write this post, as I am sure other bloggers have dealt with the same struggle.
If you are curious about starting a blog, be sure to check out my post about how to start a blog from scratch!
Here’s the Deal
When you have a recipe or food blog or create content about home remedies and alternative medicine you are bound to get negative feedback. Since this is what my blog All Natural & Good is all about, I do get negative feedback from time to time.
When it comes to recipes, sometimes they turn out terrible (whether it the fault of the writer or the reader). When it comes to home remedies and natural alternatives, there will always be people who disagree with those methods.
Most often my negative comments come from my posts about essential oils. Regardless of the disclaimers I add and making it a point to note that this is all based on my own personal experiences, haters will still hate. That is the nature of the game.
In my most recent experience with a negative comment, it was about a food recipe and tutorial for making one of America’s favorite foods from scratch. The reader wrote a very lengthy comment about how terrible my post was and how wrong I was in what I said. He ended his rant by saying I seemed to only be pushing my affiliate links.
The comment about affiliate links is what burned the most.
What’s Wrong With Blogs Having Affiliate Links?
In my opinion, absolutely nothing. Blogs offer FREE content, FREE recipes, FREE advice and tips. It takes a lot of time to create content and time is valuable. My time is especially valuable. I have three little humans I have to take care of at the same time.
If a blogger can make a small commission by including affiliate links on their posts, I totally support that. I encourage you to do that! I am one of those bloggers. I make it very clear at the top and bottom of every post that I have affiliate links and what those mean. I am in no way trying to be “pushy.”
To me, “pushing affiliate links” sounds like someone who is being aggressive, persistent and pushy. I feel like I am none of those things. I am simply a blogger whose job is to blog. Like any other person, I feel I deserve to be “paid” for the work that I do.
What I Did
Initially, I was very upset by this comment. I was offended, sad, angry and overall I felt unsettled. This is not the type of feedback I am used to and I definitely have a hard time facing conflict at times.
I thought about a million ways I could respond and in the end I felt it was not worth my time. I truly felt that the reader was wrong to have written such a nasty comment and I felt like I did not owe him any response at all.
What I did was delete the comment. I have every right to do so on a blog I own and manage.
I didn’t want my readers seeing that comment and also seeing that I did not respond. I did really listen to what he said and decided to make improvements on the post.
I went back and edited the post to be more relevant. I also added a disclaimer that I am not a professional chef (or any chef for that matter) and I have been extremely happy with the recipe and the particular products I used to make it.
The products and recipe I wrote about is something I write about often. It is a brand I truly love! And get this…I have yet to ever get a paid collaboration with them. I write about them because that is how much I genuinely love their products.
How to Deal With Negative Feedback
I am no expert, but this is what I learned. Dealing with negative feedback can be hard, but it is the reality of any business. Some things I realized include:
- The issue is most likely their own and not your own
- Respond with respect and the “you’re right” approach (although I didn’t do this – I deleted the comment)
- Make changes to reflect the comments you receive
- Do not take it personally
Have you ever dealt with negative feedback? I would love to hear how you handle it and what your tips are because I could definitely work on this.
Thanks, Tabitha
