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We are starting from scratch and working at it from the perspective of a "publisher" with a service we want to distribute through an affiliate network.

The thinking I've had as we've begun to ramp up this process is that we need to find a few "evangelists" who will in turn help to recruit more - that list building is going to have to happen organically over time.

I've seen services that offer ad distribution - but I'm reminded of Email marketing scams of old. You had to give your Email address to get access to "hundreds of thousands" of potential Email recipients but those folks in turn had done the same thing - everyone wanted to sell - no one wanted to buy - so it ended up being a waste of time, energy, and resources.

Experiences like that have convinced me organic is the only way to go. I would love to be proven wrong...