There’s always somebody. No matter how well you think you’re doing, there’s always the one person who comes onto your Facebook page or sends you an email telling you just how much you suck. Everything you’ve done up to this point in your life is wrong and your business will close its doors in a matter of hours…at least, according to them.
Encountering haters is inevitable. There’s no telling the reason why they think it’s their job to tear you and your company down. Maybe they have nothing going on in their lives, or they just had a really bad day. Whatever the situation, though, they’re bound to get you down – if you let them!
Ignore
One of the first things you should do when you encounter a troll, either online or offline, is to determine whether or not they are actually legit or not. Not everyone who sends you a negative message is trying to ruin your life forever. They may actually care about your product and how high a quality it is. They just want to see something they like improved.
If you’ve decided the person isn’t really contributing to your continued growth and just wants to cause havoc, it’s time to decide what to do. For one, I suggest flat out ignoring them. Hardly anyone who tries to stir up trouble like this is worth your time, and answering them usually just leads to more headache.
You could try to disarm them with a witty comment, and sometimes this does work. It’s particularly effective on those people who just had a bad day and wanted to lash out at somebody. However, if they’re a true troll, your wit will be wasted as they’ll just use the attention to stir the post a little more.
Prove Them Wrong
If the bum really gets under your skin, you could always use it as kindling. What do I mean by that? Use it as the fuel to your fire to get you going.
Back when I was in school, I had a particularly intense schedule my last semester. I basically was either at work or at school all day and night long. A good friend of mine casually asked if I was “exhausted yet.” While he didn’t mean anything by the question, I took it as a challenge. What, did he think I couldn’t do it?
I used that simple little question as fuel every time I WAS exhausted during that semester. It was my first thought waking up and my last before I went to sleep. Sometimes, you just need something that gets your goat to make you motivated.
If a jerk on the Internet makes you mad (and it will happen), you can either let it bother you or use it as a motivator to prove them wrong. I say use it to prove them wrong and who knows how far you’ll go.
What’s the worst thing someone has said to you on the Internet?
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Grab your free 160-page copy of the Big Press Release Book – Press Releases for Every Occasion and Industry here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/big-press-release-samples-book/