As they say, when you’ve got lemons, make lemonade. When blog marketing novices first begin blogging they are concerned that they will not get any comments, simultaneous to being concerned that the comments will be negative.It seems that everyone has heard wild and crazy stories about “trolls”. Trolls are simple - they go away when not fed with attention. By the same token, “lemon” comments can be transformed into something very sweet in the end.

Not All Negative Comments are Trolls

But not all negative remarks are trolls. When you first started blogging, one objective was to get customer feedback. You didn’t imagine that it would be all good, did you? You also were likely told many times that transparency is highly valued by consumers. So, if indeed an unhappy customer comments negatively with a valid concern, this is your time to show your stuff. You made a mistake, admit it and resolve it. Isn’t that what you always do when a customer is upset? Just keep doing as you always have.

Most blog site platforms allow for moderated commenting. Comments can be held pending approval or you can receive an email when comments first arrive. Either way, you can deal with a negative quickly if you keep an eye on your comment feeds.

The worst thing you can do is turn comments off. Comments are where the community you are striving to build begins. Relevant, well written posts will bring you readers and engaging content will bring you responses. However, no matter how good your content is, denying your readers the ability to comment can turn them off. Don’t miss the rich conversations and opportunites that you’ll enjoy with comments.

Comment Wisdom

TechForward distills the common wisdom on comments over here. Below is a synopsis.

• Get real…..But by and large, 98% of the comments you get will not be from people who have nothing better to do than trash your brand.
• Use moderated comments. …
• Create a Terms of Use page….. Essentially, it’s a page on your blog that tells visitors what they can and can’t say and what the repercussions are for ignoring the rules….
• Never edit a comment…. this changes your legal status from blogger to publisher and you open a whole other can of worms. Either reject the comment outright or ask the commenter to edit it and resubmit it. Never, ever edit a comment.
• . Carpe diem. Again, if you do get a negative comment - one that is constructive - don’t balk or give ‘tude to the person writing it. See this as your opportunity to show just how committed to customer service your company is, address the issue through the blog, quickly and thoroughly and above all else, treat the person with respect…..

Tags: blog, Blog Marketing, blog-site-platforms, blogger, blogging, comments, customer_feedback, negative_comments, trolls, unhappy_customer

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 2:37 pm and is filed under Blog Marketing, Blog Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.