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Question: My target market is women, and I'm having a hard time getting them to promote my products. They just seem unmotivated. I don't get it. Does my affiliate program stink or am I recruiting bad affiliates?

Dear Affiliate Manager:
This just goes back to basic psychology. Women and men value different things.

Car salesmen are taught this in their training. When a husband and wife walk into a car showroom, the car salesman will face the husband when he talks about things like ' horsepower and engine stuff. Then, he'll turn to the wife and talk about safety and color options. Is this condescending? Yes. But, it's also effective. My eyes glaze over when it comes to horsepower, but I want to know what I'm going to look like in my car! Sunroof? Radio? Now we're talking.

So, what does this have to do with your affiliate program? Simple. Although I can't speak for all women, obviously, I can tell you the things I value in an affiliate program.

Quality. I value my newsletter subscribers and am building a relationship with them. (According to recent studies, women go online to find relationships and support.) If your product or service is junk, then you could offer me 99% commission with a 99% conversion rate and I'm still not going to sell it to my visitors.

Affordability. I can't promote a product that I, myself, would not buy. If you're overpriced for what you offer, I can not promote your products to my subscribers.

Dollars and Cents. Of course money is a factor. It's just not the #1 factor, as you may be surprised to know. 20% commission vs. 40% -- I'm not as concerned about that as I am the other items in this list.

Tools: Yes, tools. This is really big, and so few affiliate managers 'get it'. I think I've finally pinpointed why this is such a big thing (at least for me). This scenario happens way too often: I find a product I am really excited about and I eagerly sign up for their affiliate program. I log in so I can start telling everyone I know about this great product or service. I can't wait to see what they have in the 'links' section. Will there be articles, or a rebrandable e-book maybe? Or even an informative video? It's like Christmas morning' what will I find? And, then the affiliate section opens and there's one measly link and a button.

My initial gut reaction is 'They're not even trying!' And now, I don't feel valued or motivated in the least bit. You just succeeded in turning your biggest fan into someone who stuck a lousy button on her page and knows it's not going to sell at all.

I know what you're thinking. It's the affiliate's job to sell. Yes, you're right. As an affiliate, I know that writing reviews and recommendations is the best way to sell a product. No doubt about it. Christmas">All I'm saying is that you've got to give us at least an indicator that you're interested in building a working 'relationship'.

Is it hokey to want a relationship with an Affiliate Manager? Yes. It is. But, I can tell you that any affiliate program where I get some attention and appreciation is going to get a lot more loyalty from me than an Affiliate Manager who sits on the couch drinking beer and watching football while I'm running around working my butt off... (Hmmm.... did I say that?)

So, yes, women are from Venus. You can decide to embrace it and reap the rewards, or ignore it and wonder why your affiliates aren't motivated. It's your choice. As an affiliate, I'm challenging you to embrace this information and run with it.