Q: Short of cold-sending emails, posting in forums, and other “shot in the dark” networking, would you be willing to share your methods for recruiting affiliates?
A: The attraction of those recruiting methods is that they essentially don’t cost anything. That explains their popularity and can also be attributed to their effectiveness.
If you’re doing what everybody else is doing, you are facing a very competitive landscape, not to mention the question of whether these efforts are really that useful.
I’d suggest spending some money on your recruiting efforts. One low-cost, high yield method is to target and recruit via direct mail.
Pick up a software program like LinkCapture or ARELIS to research relevant sites, and then reach out to them with a direct mail piece.
Also, try using Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN adCenter to get your affiliate program(s) in front of affiliates.
Face to face interaction cannot be beat. Consider meeting affiliates in person when you travel around to different cities and have a presence at industry conferences.