Remember, Honesty Counts
As the Web continues to mature, people are becoming much more Internet-savvy. What does this mean? More people can spot an affiliate link, marketing pitch, or deceptive content. Many big-name photographers fail to grasp this shift. It's no wonder that they're struggling to find much interaction on the content they publish on Google+.
The solution is simple: If you're going to share an affiliate link, be honest about it. If you're giving a marketing pitch for a product or service you offer, don't try to hide it. Get to know your followers, and bring up the topic when it's appropriate (see Figure 5). If you try to take too many shortcuts, eventually someone will call you out on it.
Figure 5 I'm always honest when a post has to do with an affiliate link or one of my sponsors.