There is a common self development myth in the blogging industry that leads new bloggers in direction of being overly helpful towards their readers. I believe I’ve been also deluded and mislead by this creed, and wasted a lot of time by repeating this mantra, and procrastinated on the thing that should actually be done.
I am not saying that you shouldn’t help other people “God forbid”, otherwise the blog police would be knocking at my door right now, and put handcuffs on my hands, for the blasphemy.
Luckily there is no blogging police, and luckily you don’t have to listen to anyone but yourself. Therefore the power of “Doing your own thinking” still takes place, as a common rule I suggest.
I am saying though, that you should get paid for your help.

Run it like a business

If you’ve started a blog as a business, you gotta treat it like a business, and in that case it’s going to reward you as a business does. And people open new businesses, because they are lured in by the call of money, and not by ideals alone.
Ideals are nice, but you can’t live of ideals, they are thin air. When you start blogging, have an end game plan, and make a plan when are you going to get there.

Build it and they will come myth

Yes, when you build it, people are certainly going to come to your blog, and they will enjoy reading your material, but that is not going to turn them into the buyers and heralds of your products.
When you are building your blog, you have to know, that blog by itself is not generating money. It’s more like a platform on which you build your business upon. It’s an attention generating platform.

If you are a business…

Do you think that blog will automatically generate you money? Yes, you have a product that you can promote on it, but will you engage the readers the right way? Do you know how to grow readership? Do you have someone who does all that dirty, dirty, work for you? Are you going to do it in house or are you going to outsource your blogging needs?

My advice for the businesses

Blogging should be done “in house”, with a person dedicated to that project, and that project alone. It requires someone who is proficient in blogging and someone you can trust with the direction of your company.
He (or she) needs to closely work with the management of the company in order to convey the right message. It’s integrated approach, it’s not set and forget.

Conclusion

Blog itself is not a business, it’s a platform on which you build your business on. That platform is providing you with audience, which you can potentially convert into buying customers..
In the blogging world you have to know what is your product, and what you get paid for.
Your product is the people, and you get paid for qualifying them for your products.