While it's true that people love lists, they go absolutely crazy for free stuff. For example, the Restaurant Report hosts contests sponsored by food companies, most recently Omaha Steaks. Banner Trades Great, you've succeeded in establishing a fair amount of traffic to your website. Then propose a banner advertising exchange. The Restaurant Report has successfully promoted its e-mail newsletter on several hospitality industry websites using this concept, which has resulted in hundreds of new subscriptions for the newsletter.
Content is still king.
Strive to be an information source for your industry. Provide your visitors with informative, entertaining information. Utilize some of the low budget strategies outlined here. And as stated before, keep a long-term perspective. After all, you do want to be around in the long term.