Is controversy surrounding a product or service a good thing?

[dsieg58]

I'm in a very controversial niche of alternative energy. Although proven to work by leading universities and government agencies, this niche attracts nay-sayers, skeptics, critics, by the boatload. Most have no idea what they are talking about and just regurgitate (usually unproved, or disproved) opinions held by other nay-sayers. I should also say, by and large, the population of my niche is working professionals and educators of the PHD variety.

My tactic in dealing with them for years has been to thank them for their input and sign off. I see no reason to match negativity with negativity, or get into online fist fights with them. Honest, thoughtful questions are, however, answered in kind.

Lately however, in my weekly blog posts I'm been answering them. I show the reasons why the previously held assumptions are false, and basically shred their arguments to pieces. This has (inadvertently) created a lot of controversy in my niche. I've taken on the "sacred cows" held by many, and slaughtered them. They are on the losing side of history and they know it, and are smarting from it. While they don't post publicly, they send a lot of hate mail privately.

The upside is a lot of people have come to my website to read what I have to say. (Most agree with me) The downside is, I've brought the nay-sayers out in droves and picked a fight with them.

Anyhoo..here is my question to the good people here: From a sales and/or web blogging point of view, is creating controversy a good thing? Or something that should be stayed away from? When is it a good thing? Why is it a good thing? Or the same questions on the flip side. (why is it a bad thing?)

I was just interested in your reactions. The great thing about this forum is you can get unbiased advice and opinions from other experienced online professionals without bringing the crazies out in droves. Internet marketing is such a private profession, you just don't have the "sounding board" in IM you have in other professions.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any replies.

[cash ninja]

Well, the saying goes that there is no such thing as bad publicity and whilst I'm sure companies like BP might disagree about that, creating a bit of a stir or controversy in your niche can be an excellent form of viral marketing.

If you can stand up and go against conventional wisdom, or disprove common misconceptions then I would argue it could go a long way to making you regarded as an expert in your niche.

It sounds like you are already getting the benefit from the viral publicity by doing this, I guess the downside to it is whether or not you can cope with the rabid lunatics you have picked a fight with. Ultimately, that comes down to a battle of wills. Clearly there are more of them than there are of you but with your increased traffic, hopefully that would also bring some new allies.

Maybe you should name and shame some of the people sending you this hate mail? I wonder what the result of publishing some of the stuff they are sending you would be? You don't necessarily have to name them when you do it, just post their rants as evidence of the kinds of things that they are sending you - it might slow them down if they think they are going to get exposed for the hate mongers that it sounds like they are. On the other hand, if they are as irrational as you have implied, then you might just be throwing fuel on the fire.

I'd love to have a read of your site, not from a voyeuristic point of view but because I have a genuine interest in alternative energy and may well be getting involved in an alternative energy project some time in the near(ish) future.

[dsieg58]

Hi Ninja,

Thanks for the input. What you're saying makes a lot of sense.

Ultimately, that comes down to a battle of wills. Clearly there are more of them than there are of you but with your increased traffic, hopefully that would also bring some new allies.

It's a mixed blessing for sure.

Maybe you should name and shame some of the people sending you this hate mail? I wonder what the result of publishing some of the stuff they are sending you would be? You don't necessarily have to name them when you do it, just post their rants as evidence of the kinds of things that they are sending you - it might slow them down if they think they are going to get exposed for the hate mongers that it sounds like they are. On the other hand, if they are as irrational as you have implied, then you might just be throwing fuel on the fire.

I thought about that. But in the end, I thought it might be perceived as "sour grapes." UNLESS, I can turn it into a humorous aside, or spin a positive, from their negative.

I'd love to have a read of your site, not from a voyeuristic point of view but because I have a genuine interest in alternative energy and may well be getting involved in an alternative energy project some time in the near(ish) future.

Thanks. I've thought about that as well. I realize I could add a signature at this point. But I like my anonymity. I'm not trying to drum up more page views. I'm already regarded as an authority, or expert in my niche. Also, my screen name here IS my real name. The same screen name (+ my DOB...yeah, I'm that old) I've used for 10 years, and my email address...I don't hide. So it is refreshing to come here and just be "no one." But I'll give you a hint...Google "algae biodiesel" I'm on page one. I'm not hard to find. Check out my (this weeks) newsletters, you'll see what I'm talking about. But please, I don't want talk about it (alternative energy) here. You can contact me privately if you want from my website or PM me, no problem. This forum is my private refuge from the world and I don't want to lose that.

[cash ninja]

No worries and I understand both your wish to remain somewhat anonymous and also not wanting to talk about it too much here, where you can come to escape from it. I'll look you up. In the mean time, I got an email from Flippa this morning, that had a link to a brief snippet that then had a link to an actual article related to this very subject (about creating a bit of controversy) might be worth a read:

http://www.copyblogger.com/controversial-content/

A while ago I did also post something from the 4 hour blog about how a marketing guy from Abercrombie & Fitch had used a fairly controversial ad campaign to generate loads of free pr and press. It's probably still in this forum somewhere but it has nsfw content in it, so I won't link to it again.

[dsieg58]

Cash,

That's a cool article. It spells out the need to be careful in how, and why, you do it. The nay-sayers criticizing me don't bother me so much (why should it? I was right all along) but there is always the nagging thought in the back of my mind..."Is this the best use of my time? Or a waste of time?" In any event, the next time I get one, I think I'll just link to my article and not say another word. Thanks for the replies, Cash. It helped to work my way through it.

[ebizroi]

Regarding your situation dsieg58, probably minimal benefit to throw fuel on an already annoying fire IMO. I find the use of controversy is good for provoking thought and getting people to think outside their comfort zone and challenge conventional wisdom. For example, one of my favorites is to tell those marketing online to think about and pay attention to Google+. How do I support that suggestion. Aside from the fact Google+ now has over 400M users (~40% of Facebook), based on existing Google users (search + gmail + YouTube +++), Google+ has the potential to bury facebook, not to mention personalization of search results based on Google Search Plus Your World update. The controversial statement I like to use is that Google+ will dominate Facebook. This is not as much of a stretch now as it used to be a year ago when I first started saying it. I support this seemingly impossible prediction by pointing out how crazy the question of whether or not Facebook would every become as big as MySpace seemed just 6 years ago, which at the time, was a controversial question dismissed by most as one from the naive or ignorant. We all know how that book ends! MyWho? Whose to say that Facebook will dominate forever? The key to making the Google+ will dominate controversy statement is to get businesses to think about the possibility that they are over investing in facebook at the expense of ignoring emerging networks like Google+ and Pinterest. Controversy can be a great catalyst to challenge conventional thinking and getting people to look into the future as early adoption generally is rewarded, especially in Internet marketing. Good luck on your blog and dealing with the nay-sayers.