Lots of "paid" marketing avenues that aren't ads. Remember to factor in time and opportunity costs when deciding whether to go for organic style or ads. Most people have time to throw at developing organic content, and it'll pay off over the longer term, however, it isn't "free" when all said and done.<p>Some "free" ones:
PR would be a good one, track any relevant industry publications, follow #journorequest on Twitter [0], and reach out to journos writing articles about your industry/area and offer comment.<p>Reach out to some industry blogs, or the blogs of companies in non-competing verticals to write some value-add guest content. Builds a network, and if you find somewhere where you'd be an additive to another brand (e.g. you provide an email helpdesk solution, can write an article for an ESP about best practices for outbound email content etc...)<p>Make sure you capture interest on your site, landing page, blog email capture, reaching out to cold leads and asking them if they would be interested in hearing more (make sure you're explicit for their permission). Then keep them on a drip email list outlining the problem you solve, how it fits into the industry, some kind of hook relevant to each user, and then an offer to talk them through getting set up, or hear about what blockers they'd have with implementing your solution. Sell after a build up.<p>None of this is quick, organic acquisition will compound, but don't expect results with free channels straight away.<p>[0] <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23journorequest&src=tyah" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/search?q=%23journorequest&src=tyah</a>