I have worked like a maniac for our brand new ADMIN FORUM. It has started as a pretty small one, but we’re doing great. We have 6K posts (excellent quality), a job board that’s running nicely and it looks like we’re on a good track.
In order to promote and establish it, I also spent an insane amount of time online in admin forums or other similar niches (blogging, webmaster, promotion forums). As an experienced web designer, you’d guess I also try to provide CONSTRUCTIVE feedback to people who ask for reviews and help them take their sites to the next level.
And it drives me bonkers when I see people getting defensive. You know what? If you asked for a review, prepare to get some negative comments. Well, I couldn’t consider mine negative per se, but they are a criticism with the much needed solutions to improve. I never say ‘you’re site sucks’, even if most of them really do. It would be hurtful and useless. I do tell them to procure a better script, to work on the logo, to try solve this and that in the layout.
My advice in this case is FREE. My clients are paying me top dollar to work on theirs sites, but these guys get someone who’s doing this FOR A LIVING come and give some hints so that they can improve their sits. And of course, just cause I didn’t agree their site is amazing (which most of the case it’s not), I am getting annoyed replies and have my advice ignored.
So, for all of you who are trying to make anything online: LEARN TO LISTEN. Your site is never perfect. Mine are carefully designed and still far from being ideal. I find mistakes all day, other people who review my sites constantly warn me about stuff that’s not 100% great. And I thank them for their effort and love getting that FREE advice, that helps me make a better site and earn more money in the end.
If someone is coming with some constructive ideas, don’t shun them. Understand that no one is perfect. I bet even Google get a lot of negative feedback, but they are smart enough to take all ideas into account and see how to make a better product for their users. Stop being defensive. No one wishes to harm you. Sure, your ego will get bruised, but I’d rather get a bruised ego than keep on running a bad site.
You choose: ego or success? Cause most of the time you can’t have them both.
Excellent title I must say. Because when one gives any thing of free of cost people started doubt on it but this is not always true. One should analyse the information before implementing and this is the good sign of a human being.
Strong message you have here. I remember a message from a book that I ever read “Carlos Goshn : The Goshn Factor”. One of the quotes by Goshn : God gave us two ears and one mouth … so talk less and listen more.
Well, the newbies have a difficult way of acknowledging that their newly created website isn’t as great as they think it is, in fact it’s not great at all. Them becoming defensive just proves how inexperienced and novice they are in learning from mistakes and progressing. Just don’t bother with any of them too much.