“Your blog design is terrible. You fill your page with 3rd party ads and the blog post was worthless.” – Google Plus User
I thought, “What an a-hole.”
I stung from this criticism. Really pissed me off. Then 1 day later I made the exact changes I needed to make in order to attract a higher level of reader. That is the funny thing about criticism; if you are hurt, you feel the criticism to be true. If you feel the criticism to be true, you need to make the change the criticism calls for.
Bloggers are not immune from receiving rough feedback. Pros, novices and people in between are apt to get difficult comments to digest. The winners embrace and learn from criticism while the struggling bloggers sit hurt for days, or stop blogging all together. Remember this: do not take the words personally. Intend to make money online via their feedback.
Criticism is an opinion. Most people – even if they lob caustic criticism in your direction – are not intending to hurt you. They just lack tact. The majority of readers are happy to help by giving you high energy, loving and caring feedback. The select few who do offer hurtful, nasty criticism are simply hurting, and want to project their suffering on you.
Relax. Do not fight back. Calm down. Feel the sting, realize that the stinging means you feel the statement true on some level, and let the honesty sink in. If you do this you are freed by the criticism. You make the changes to grow your blog or your cash gifting club and do whatever it takes to improve yourself as a person.
I reduced the size of my 3rd party ads and added 1 unique, hand-crafted Peoples Program banner ad. I also bumped up the quality and delivery of my content. These were the changes I needed to make in order to improve myself, my blog and the overall quality of my leads.
I thanked that guy – at least in my mind – a few days after, because without his stinging criticism I might not have made the changes I needed to make in order to grow myself and my blog audience.
1 – Do Not Take it Personally
The dude from G Plus delivered his criticism in a caustic package but I could tell he was not trying to hurt me. That is the funny thing about being critical; in most cases, the individual lacks tact. They do not know what they are saying is rude, or is at least being presented in a rude, mindless manner. The presentation of criticism says everything about the individual and nothing about you.
The person is sharing their opinion. That is it. No worries, right? Because everybody is entitled to their opinion and if you are hurt by some viewpoint, it is a viewpoint, and not the person delivering the criticism. Imagine yourself saying, “Opinion, opinion”, when reading burning criticism and you are able to embrace the barbs with greater ease.
2 – Feel the Sting
You are human so you likely feel the sting, even if you do not take the criticism personally right off the bat. You might get pissed, or upset, or embarrassed, or angry, or jealous, and you want to step right back inside your little comfort zone, wanting to pull back on posting for a while.
I know, because this was me for a long, long time, and I still fight with my fear of criticism demons today. I might be pissed, feel agitated, and want to lash out, criticizing people for their lack of tact. I intend to feel the sting, and if I anger a few hours or days later over criticism, I intend to feel the sting again. This is the key to embracing and using criticism for some higher purpose. Feel the sting.
3 – Use to Your Benefit
If criticism hurts, you feel the statement is true. If you are not hurt by criticism, you feel the statement is not true. Once the sting sets in, feel the hurt. Then review the statement. Where can you make changes to your blog? How is the criticism pointing you in the right direction? The benefit arises after you let go of the sting and decide to use the criticism to better yourself and your blog.
I realized it was time to ramp up the quality of my work in order to really make money online.
I was in a bit of a cash gifting holding pattern, not seeing many gifts, and my Adsense revenue lagged a bit, too. The criticism came at the perfect time because I finally stopped feeling hurt and began to feel the truth in the statement, and made the changes to my blog to experience the benefits inherent in the barb.
4 – Some People Have No Tact
Honestly, I could tell the guy did not want to hurt me, even though I felt hurt.
As a cash gifting coach you run into people who are angry at their choice of how to make a living, and they attempt to project their anger on you. This Google Plus guy was not in that boat. He simply did not learn the niceties of offering criticism in a respectful manner. Knowing this, I was not as upset, as I took a step back and factored in the language barrier thing too.
5 – Be at Peace with Receiving Criticism
You are going to receive criticism as a blogger, cash gifting coach or MLM coach. Being an online entrepreneur ensures that people are quick to share their opinion with you. If the criticism does not sting, you do not feel it to be true. You may or may not see benefit in using their advice.
If you feel a sting, embrace the energies. Eventually you learn to be at peace with receiving feedback and the sting lessens more each day, or each time you receive feedback. Take a deep breath. Relax. Even if people offer burning criticism most are helping you by directing you toward some high energy end. The words are true in some cases and when you can be at peace with accepting the truth you open yourself up to an exciting new world of blogging growth.
6 – Laugh a Bit More
This one is easy. Laugh at your hurts. The sting dies off. In some cases you are laughing off someone who is attempting to be nasty, intending to unload their suffering on you. Laugh, to relax, then feel compassion if you can find it in your heart.
In other cases you are bound to remove the sting and select the truth nuggets once you decide to laugh for a bit. Feeling high energy helps you cut through hurt and see the benefit in feedback.
Your Turn
How do you feel about receiving caustic blog criticism?
What tips can you add to this list?