Bloggers who have been in the business for a while are all too familiar with the inevitable negativity that manifests in the comments section of one or more blog posts. Depending on circumstance, these types of comments can range from annoying and inconvenient to terrible and slanderous. Bloggers often walk a fine line between making sure that all content (including comments) are acceptable for all audiences while also trying to prevent a climate of censorship. If you have been on the receiving end of negative blog comments, then please follow the preceding tips to help remedy the problem and navigate the situation.

Cool Down

If the comment in question is particularly hateful, nasty or incendiary, then you have every right as a blogger and as a decent human being to remove it. However, if the comment is not necessarily explosive but does irritate you to some degree, then you will want to allow some time between when you saw it and when you respond. This is so that you can have a level head when responding; sometimes, comments are designed to illicit a bad reaction – you do not want to fall into the trap. Whether they are pinging URLs while slandering your site or simply being facetious, you want to be sure to embody a professional role throughout the conflict.

Keep an Open Presence

If you shut down or otherwise prevent comments from appearing on your blog, then the perpetrator has won the battle. Rather than disabling the comments section of your blog (which is more crucial to consistent traffic than many realize), you can consider implementing a blog comment system that either requires posters to register with your website or use an existing social networking profile like Facebook or DISQUS to express their feelings. This simple action actually prevents a large amount of both spam and negativity from proliferating across your blog comment sections, while still allowing good-intentioned individuals to communicate with one another.

Give Them A Face & Voice

If the person is so determined to make their voice heard, oblige them. From your control panel, you may be able to find information that is relevant to the writer’s location and occupation. While spammy comments for pinging URLs will not have real information associated with them, those who are simply seeking to stir up trouble will probably not take the time to hide their information. You can also extend to them an offer to write a guest post for your blog; if they feel you are not doing the subject adequate justice, give them the opportunity to express themselves in the same format – all the while boosting the amount of content featured on your blog.

Conclusion

As a blogger, you have to keep a cool head while dealing with unruly posters. You probably already have a few loyal commenters who share your love of any particular subject – you do not want to irk them or otherwise make them feel unwelcome. By using a balanced approach (blocking spam comments, addressing negativity with positivity and keeping your comments open to all), you will come out on top in every circumstance.