My First Hate-Mail!

[PEERless]

In response to my most recent blog post, I got this:

Are you hard up for cash? Im just having a hard time understanding why you need donations from random people. Besides that, this all sounds like a bunch of bullshit.

To which I replied the following:

Anonymous, thank you for your thoughtful comments. My favorite part of blogging is interacting with my fans. Some people just don't realize that this site takes up a lot of my time and energy, so I appreciate your generous offer of a donation.

Of course I could delete all my mean comments, but I thought it might take the fun (and the honesty) out of things. Anyone else have any thoughts on dealing with public criticism?

 

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[kimberland]

I don't delete negative comments either.
If I'm going to accept comments,
I accept the good with the bad.
I DO respond to them though
(politely and with a bit of humor).

I also respond to any emails/letters,
good or bad,
about my novels.
One of my author buddies gets a hate letter
from a 'fan' after every book.
She'll respond with a
"that's unfortunate, here are other authors you might enjoy".
The fan will then happily (or I guess unhappily)
buy and complain about the next book.
This complainer has bought every single book
(about 50 of them).

Some folks simply like to complain.

 

[Jonleehacker]

you'll be amazed how easy it is to turn the people who make these type of comments into your biggest supporters.

It just takes an honest and thoughtful response without taking it personally, the place to start is by asking if there is anything about their comment that is accurate?

...maybe asking for donations really is a bad idea for your audience? Sometimes these type of comments can contain nuggets of wisdom.

 

[PEERless]

Some folks simply like to complain.

I work in hospitality and believe this to be 100% true.

...maybe asking for donations really is a bad idea for your audience? Sometimes these type of comments can contain nuggets of wisdom.

I will think about removing the donating ability. I learned, though, that introducing monetization immediately is better than trying to start it later with an established audience.

 

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[NoMoneyDown]

I don't delete negative posts, either, but I also make sure that people can't post as "anonymous". I figure if they have an ax to grind, they can go through the trouble of setting up a login account to tell me. It certainly weeds out drive-by trolls and flamers.

 

[fanocks2003]

The more successful you become, the more of those hate letters you will recieve. I get 1-2 hate letters a week now. At a minimum. Everyone of those emails are more creative than the other.

But as was mentioned in one post on this thread: You can make your biggest critic your biggest supporter by asking them to elaborate the facts (shed the assumptions and bring on the facts). If they have facts that shows you are utterly wrong, then change and you will have a critic who loves you for it. Nothing flatters more than an ego boost.

So far all of my critics just shut up, stop sending emails, when I ask them the dreadly words "Well, show me the facts that I am wrong and you are right". One of my competitors (in finance) started a real hate campaign against my company 1-2 months ago. They really pounded the words "That young guy is just after you're money. As soon as he gets it, he will disappear and leave you with nothing. He is a phony, his company is a phony. He has already fooled people etc". And so it rants on and on. I sent an email directly to this organisation asking the responsible ones who had created this hate campaign if they could show me the facts. If they could present the victims my company had defrauded. I was surprised, but really amused: There where never any emails sent back to me. But mind this, on their own forum they told all of the members another tale about my bad company. I am still amused by the fact that they haven't replied to face me directly. If I had such a story I would show facts after facts, crushing them. Why not, it is a game and the best man wins. Right?

The other day a journalist from a shady magazine, as I came to understand later on after som light research, telephoned me asking for my comment on this organisations hate campaign against my company and me personally. I said my meaning: We want to see those victims we are said to have defrauded. The journalist said she would write an article that would show my company in the right light (meaning, an article that would portray my view as I have told her). The next day this magazine showcases the article (a small article, barely something to read because that was really the worst journalistic article I have ever read in my life. As I said, "shady magazine"). In the article I was portrayed as the Son of The Devil more or less. And my company was portrayed as the handy craft of The Devil himself.

This is so ordinary for me by now so I really don't get sad or particularly angry when this happens. It always comes of as a natural human behaviour. Humans has a sick talent to destroy things before those things have had the chance of proving themselfs. People also have a sick talent to assume things are right even though no facts supports the assumption. The biggest problem is uneducated people who believe in these people running all of these lies and factless accusations. That is the biggest problem you as a businessman can have. But the solution is always to challenge the troublemakers with asking for facts that their assumptions are right. The best way to neutralize the situation is by doing this as public as possible. Humiliating the troublemakers so that they will think twice before they try a similar thing in the future. You need to stand up as the most trustworthy party. Otherwise the lies will destroy you, no matter how innocent you actually are. Life is a bitch...hehe. Sometimes.

 

[mtnman]

If you start selling books, it will be like brushing your teeth, Just say thank you (or nothing at all) and move right along. Focus on those you can help and give those you can't (better known as the ones who do not want to be helped in the first place) zero energy.

 

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[kimberland]

LOL

I got a good one today.
I had a contest with the prize a free eBook.
Sent the eBook
and got a good long email back
from the winner
about how she doesn't like eBooks
and how I should have sent her the print copy.
Said right in the contest entry that it was an eBook.

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

 

[PEERless]

Thanks for sympathizing. I admit to feeling riled up at first, but coming up with a polite, disarming response was fun. Reading some of Maddox's hate-mail helped.