I promise money.

i suppose that would work, but wouldnt that be metagaming if you used real money

But seriously, what I find helpful is to give your prospective ally:

(1) a clear objective to the alliance;
(2) a clear reason/set of reasons why this objective is in the prospective ally's best interest;
(3) a clear method for achieving this objective; and
(4) a clear reason/set of reasons why this course of action is better than the alternatives.

You have to couple it with a few other traits:

*Talk to everybody from the start of the game, and even if you're not directly able to coordinate with them, check up on them once a year minimum. Try to talk about future plans if not immediate ones; after all, talking to them about your future plans means they're involved in them, and that bodes well for you. Just be careful about the specifics, lest they get leaked to any undesirables.
*Be courteous throughout; respond to rudeness with playful sarcastic banter, and try to convey a likable personality as you talk to everyone.
*Don't let your emotions get too involved; too much happiness is likely to piss somebody off given the zero-sum nature of the game, too much negativity is going to ruin your game.

And perhaps the most useful thing of all: be sure your ally is always busier than you are on the field. If you're establishing strong rapport with everyone on the board and sticking to a manageable front, you should be able to find someone willing to check your neighbor's growth for you, and you're also less likely to find someone checking your own.

Hahaha. I was (almost) kidding about the money. I did promise money in a face-to-face game once. That sucker never got a cent outta me, though!

great advice, thanks. just what i was looking for

Also try and be open and sharing with information. If you're too guarded people will get suspicious. Note however I didn't say the information had to be true...

I can't believe I forgot that. +1 Mafialligator. Misinformation and propaganda are wonderful tools if you are careful in your wording. They can seriously backfire if done wrong, so be sure you've thought through what you're going to say, but it's unbelievable how easy it is to have the entire board believing an outright lie and steering their foreign policies to your benefit as a result.

i remember i was in a chess tournament and i saw a player on the board next to me bribe the other player to loose. the guy took the money and had mate within five moods. you should have seen the expression on the loosers face. priceless. and since bribary is cheating he couldnt ask for money back.

LOL. That's great. I never understood how bribery in things like this was seriously supposed to work. Whoever puts up something of value first (losing or money) gets screwed.

i know.its usually better just to win it with skill if you can. i won 300 dollars in a chess tournament once, for tenth place

i got money without being bribed or giving bribes

Good stuff. I don't think I've ever played chess competitively. I hear it helps your tactical skill in this game, but I guess I'm doing okay without it. *shrug*

well in chess it is just you versus another player, where here it takes alliances and the whims of others (not being stabbed), as well as pleasing others to help you win so purely tactical play wont cut it, while it is helpful and chess can help

also, if you are playing in a game with people who know you, a good reputation would help, for some of the less popular players (as in ones who often annoy others, no names but you know who i am talking about) may find it harder to make alliances

Well, right. Pure chess won't translate to Diplomacy (much as pure Diplomacy won't translate to chess). It's just helpful as a tactical supplement, as I understand from those who do play both.

yes. i wish i could play more actual board diplomacy, but i have few friends near me that play it, so i use this site instead

Oh, yeah, that works wonders as well. That's not something you can fix right away, though. It takes some time to build that. So I figured I would name more immediate things in my posts. But focus on that while you play.

yes, i realize that. were you refering to me in a negative way by that comment

I realize fix was a bad choice of words, haha. I mean that where you can implement the other things listed here in the very next game you play, getting widespread name recognition here would take a while. Nothing negative meant about it. :)

there is the bribing option too