Is Expecting Benefit for Help deceitful?

What Is Deceitful & What Is Not?

Just to get your thoughts on this as I find people are very quick to judge so I'd like to know what is deceptive and what is not deceptive?

Getting Benefit from Offerings

I just recently wrote a post about copywriting introducing the idea of presenting an irresistible offer to convert your readers into buyers. Someone posted the very same link on the thread which I removed because I wanted to encourage engagement on this post

With this I offered the ebook at the end of the post for free. All you had to do is say Yes please and I would then forward the link onto that person.

With this I benefited in two ways

1. Post engagement
2. Points towards my WA rank

However I was email to be told that this is not the way things should be done on WA as it was deceitful.

First of all I see no benefit at all in the WA rank, perhaps it helps with exposure but that's about it. If I were to reach ambassador status I would not be going to Vegas, that's for sure so apart from competitiveness from my own self I do not see or know of any other benefit.

Second of all we are all learning as we go so what works on here I can apply to my own site right? Or am I wrong?

I do not want to be deceitful and I find it hard to be told I'm doing wrong to others but at the same time I feel this is not wrong, please tell me otherwise

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't affiliate marketing about getting paid? Offering something then hoping for some kind of commission?

So where do we draw line? Can we help, hoping to gain and still be credible as a helper?

I'm interested to hear your thoughts, please be respectful and expressive but not aggressive.

many thanks