I remember my first hater.  I had a small Instagram account and I posted mostly art. One day I DARED to post a selfie of myself in the studio.  About 18 of my closest friends liked it, and one person, a stranger, commented “You’re trash.  Unfollow.”  I remember this like it was yesterday.  It was like someone had just spit in my face.  I got hot, I got angry, I cried, I deleted it and then regretted it because I wanted to go to their page and find out who they were and maybe talk them into the fact that I’m not trash, I’m actually really nice, and maybe they’d reconsider and apologize and and agree to follow me again and post lots of nice things about me. At the very least  we can agree to disagree and part friends???? I mean I need closure!

Now, hundreds and hundreds of furious comments later, I now feel mildly pleased and amused.  I mean, I don’t LOVE it, but I kinda got used to it! Most of the comments I get now aren’t so personal, they’re just about my life’s work, my heart and soul, my art.  So, it’s totally fine.  But seriously, I actually think haters aren’t a bad thing, and I’m going to share with you 4 reasons why I’m not all that mad about ‘em.

Before I get into my reasons, it probably should be said the there are a few kind of haters out there on social. There are the personally malicious types, like that first guy who made a super mean comment pretty much out of the blue. Then there are the opinionated types, who don’t understand or like what you have made and want to let you know you’re WRONG.  My personal favorite are the moralistic haters, who want you to know how wrong you are, and why, and also why they personally are qualified to tell you why you suck, like people who want to let me know I’m a “designer” not an artist, and they know because they went to art school and I really shouldn’t feel bad about it because designers are cool too, but I should stop claiming to be an artist. True story.   There are the extremely profane types that are just there for shock value. FYI I run a family channel, if the comment gets too R rated I just delete it.  Then there are the bots.  I honestly can’t tell a bot from a real person, but I know that they are out there, and they are increasingly more and more sophisticated.   Also, if I get a comment that stings a little, it helps a lot to just be like, BOT.  One thing is true about ALL types: no one knows the difference between YOUR and YOU’RE or WAIST and WASTE, but that’s another thing all together

Here are 5 reasons why having haters is good. 

Being provocative is good

The first reason that haters are good is that it’s a sign your aren’t posting vanilla pap.  Being provocative is a good thing. I’m not saying be scandalous to get people hot and bothered, there’s enough of that going around, but  If people are responding to your art content with emotion, even negative emotion, that is a definite good sign.  No one cares if you’re just doing hand lettering of “Live laugh love”.  Picking a position, even in something as uncontroversial as painting, will create what Seth Godin calls “being remarkable”. And  You want people to remark about you!  The law of averages is that if you are remarkable, some people will make unkind remarks.  These days I don’t believe that all press is good press, but I do believe that holding my ground about using as much paint as I want, and the result of some people being mad about it, is only helping my remarkability. 

 Any engagement boosts the algorithm

The 2nd reason haters are good is that A comment is a comment is a comment.  Any engagement boosts the algorithm. Even a douche canoe is helping your page and your reputation by commenting something lousy.

 Your loyal fans will jump in there

Third reason haters are good! Your loyal fans will jump in! There is nothing that makes a fan madder than a jerk wad hanging in the comment section, and I have seen threads that are hundreds of comments long of multiple people weighing in with big opinions.  Again, this is not a bad thing with the algorithm, but even more than that, a fan will become MORE of a fan if they start feeling protective for you.  I think my haters have made some of my casual fans absolutely committed to supporting me and my art just by virtue of banding together against the injustice of someone saying “My dog could paint that”. This actually creates MORE emotional connection.

You Need to Toughen Up

The fourth reason why haters can be good is that getting tougher is good for us.  I had a friend that took a job as a door to door salesman. I know, strange, right?  They still have those!  Obviously he got a lot of doors slammed in his face, and after a week on the job he said he was cured of being scared of strangers.  The worst had happened so many times that he felt like he could try talk to anyone about anything, and wouldn’t fall apart if they were jerks.  My art isn’t ME.  My social media isn’t ME.  If someone doesn’t like my art, or doesn’t like me personally, I’m not made of candy glass to shatter at the first sign of opposition.  As Brene Brown says, don’t shrink back, don’t puff up, but hold your sacred ground.  (Editor put this quote on screen)

My haters actually made me steadier and more committed to my path and my voice. 

Oh and The Art Police!

In most cases, the 5th reason my haters are good, they are the inspiration for my Oscar winning performance as the Art Police emergency operator! Most of my material is direct quotes from my haters. It’s comedy gold. Watch The Art Police HERE.