A Chronicle For Those Who Don’t Understand How The Internet Works
Someone recently hit me with this pearl of wisdom: “The only reason you help people is to promote your business.”
The statement was loaded with a cynicism that was meant to sound astute, like someone who’s discovered the secret behind a magic trick. The intention, I presume, was to make me feel exposed or, at the very least, hypocritical.
My honest reaction? A yawn.
Not because it was offensive, but because it’s such an antiquated, reductive, and fundamentally wrong argument about the modern digital economy that it’s almost pitiful. It’s like explaining how a smartphone works to a medieval scholar and having them conclude it’s black magic.
So, let’s dismantle this fallacy, piece by piece, and perhaps in the process, explain once and for all how a business actually works on the internet.
1. Helping People Isn’t A Secret Strategy. It Is The Strategy.
The idea that “helping” is a cunning scheme to later “trick” people is profoundly stupid. It presupposes that the public is a mass of simpletons who can’t discern genuine value from empty content.
The naked truth is this: in the attention economy, helping people is the core product.
All the content I create, all the advice I give for free, every problem I help solve without charging a penny – that isn’t bait. That is the demonstration of my final product.
My expertise, my way of thinking, my ability to solve problems – that is what I sell. The free posts, the guides, the answers in the comments are the free sample in the shop window. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together understands that if the free sample is good, the paid product will be excellent.
Calling that “hypocrisy” is like going to a bakery, tasting a free piece of cake, and accusing the baker of being manipulative for expecting you to buy a whole slice. No, they are demonstrating the quality of their work. It’s a transparent transaction, not a con.
2. The Old Business Model Is Dead. This Is The New One.
The business model my critic likely has in their head is probably this:
- Create an intrusive, shouty advert.
- Yell, “BUY NOW!” until you’re hoarse.
- Repeat.
That model is dead. It was buried by the algorithm. The internet of 2025 is a sophisticated ecosystem that rewards value and trust above all else.
- Google prioritises content that truly answers users’ queries.
- Facebook (and its close relative, Instagram) crushed the organic reach of pages that only publish promotional content, forcing them to pay to be seen. Its algorithmic machine now disproportionately favours content that generates genuine interaction and meaningful conversations in groups and comments – in other words, content that actually helps and engages people.
- TikTok promotes accounts that retain attention and create communities.
- People block, report, and ignore blatant promotional content.
The alternative to the “help to sell” model isn’t a “purer,” more altruistic model. The alternative is failure. It’s shouting into an empty room where no one trusts you.
3. The Symbiotic Relationship: I Win, You Win.
Let’s talk about hypocrisy. True hypocrisy would be me hiding the fact that I have a business. But I don’t hide it. It’s in my bio, on my website, in my link.
Here is the perfectly ethical and realistic transaction that my critic can’t seem to digest:
- I offer free value: I solve a small problem, give advice, offer a perspective. This costs me time and knowledge.
- The reader receives free value: They walk away with a solved problem, without paying anything. They’ve won.
- If the problem is complex: If that was just one of 50 problems this person has, and I have a product (an ebook, a course, consultancy) that solves them all in a structured way…
- I offer the paid solution: I present it transparently.
- The reader makes a choice: They can ignore it and keep the free content (and still come out ahead) or they can invest in the complete solution.
- Result: If they buy, we both win. They gained a complete solution, I gained a fair return for my work and investment.
Where is the exploitation? Where is the deceit? This is called a civilised exchange, not a pyramid scheme.
Conclusion: Stop Projecting Your Lack of Value
Accusing someone of helping others just to promote their business is a projection of your own inability to create real value. It’s the refuge of those who are too lazy to build genuine authority and prefer to throw stones at those who do.
Yes, I help people. And yes, I hope that upon seeing the value I give away for free, some of them will want to buy what I have to sell.
It’s not a dark secret. It’s the backbone of any successful, ethical, and, dare I say it, useful digital business for my audience.
Calling it hypocrisy is refusing to understand that the world has changed. And, my dear critic, if there is anything truly hypocritical, it’s demanding my time and knowledge while accusing me of having them for sale.
The world no longer runs on snake oil salesmen. It runs on problem-solvers. If that’s a problem for you, the problem is yours.
Inflated Greetings!
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