"If you've got an e-commerce website," I was frequently told by my internet savvy friends, "you have GOT to have an affiliate program." I took that to heart. "Ok!" I said, and when I created www.ArticleMarketer.com, I made sure that I developed a compelling offer for affiliates.

So what's nightmare? Here I had created perfect program for affiliates and what kind of results was I getting? None. Nada. Zilch. A big fat zero. There was no lineup of affiliates banging at door.

Has this happened to you? Is your affiliate program going nowhere? Here is step-by-step analysis of what makes an affiliate program take off, and how my results were impacted by each one.

Offer a good deal – make it worth their while Affiliates will not promote your product because it "feels good". An emotional payoff might be sufficient for non-profit organizations or political campaigns, but that's not enough in cold, hard world of e-commerce. Affiliates are looking for products and services that quickly convert to sale.

Affiliates don't mind pre-selling your goods to their lists and visitors, but you have got to make it worth their effort. Don't be cheap. Give your affiliates a good deal. Unless you're selling Lear Jets or Rolls Royces, that 5% commission you are thinking about isn't going to get anyone excited about being your representative.

How did I fare against this point? I nailed it. I made sure to offer 50% commissions and a lifetime customer program. Residual and recurring revenue are automatic. For any customer that one of my affiliates sends to my site, they get paid. Not just on first sale either. They get paid every time that person spends money, renews a subscription, or buys something else.

But evidently that was not enough. I had my program set up to offer a good, profitable deal for affiliates. So I moved to next point:

Provide personal service – be responsive Affiliates are your business partners, not cattle to be herded. Treat them with respect, provide them with tools they need to be successful, and be responsive when your affiliates ask for help, guidance or tools. In end, it will make things better for you. Make sure you take care of your affiliates.

Sit down and ask yourself following questions: First and foremost, “What interests me?”, “What drives your interests…Is it swimming? “. Now for example if your interest is swimming, you need to ask question “What is it about swimming that interests me?”. Is it accomplishing a certain amount of laps a day? That is just one example here are some others: Is your interest fishing? What kind of fish do you catch? What lures do you use? Is it traveling? What was most exotic location you ever visited? What did you do while their? What sites did you see?