I don't claim to be a expert on recruiting affiliates, but what I've seen and experienced, the best or ultimate way to attract the right affiliates is to seek them out. Notice I said the "right" affiliates? I say that because most affiliates, a majority of them won't do much if they do anything. I don't mean that as a knock or a negative, it's just the reality. They sign up and maybe forget about promoting, or put it off, or many just don't have the traffic to make the sales in the first place.
For example I have a bunch of products on JVzoo and get affiliates requesting to promote, many affiliates I've already approved, but few if any make sales. Of course there could be many reasons, but it's the reality.
The other thing to think about, if you seek or or attract the right affiliates, you don't need many of them to make alot of sales.
Some time back a friend of mine was looking to find affiliates to promote a new product he created. He took the time to track down the right affiliates, ended up with only one, but that one did over 10k in sales.
So, it's best if you find the websites that have the traffic or audience that would be best for your product or service and contact the owner in a good way.
It also helps to have a track record. if you don't have sales data, less chance of attracting. If you can get it on platforms that show conversions (proof), that can greatly help you get them on board.
You could also list it at places like jvzoo, clickbank or warrior+, just don't expect mass affiliates bringing in mass sales. Less so, if you don't have a track record.
There are also product launch sites you can list, like muncheye.
And, this shouldn't need to be said, but your product or service needs to be good and your sales copy needs to be good or you'll be wasting their time.
From what I've seen, the big guys are the ones that build it up. They start with one product that converts well, so next time, they can draw in more affiliates, and the next one is even better, until they have the lined up waiting for the next release.
Think I've gone on to long