This should be your first step. If you do get a friend or two to sign up under you, then you can work together to get referrals. Also your friends can tell their friends and family and so on starting a chain reaction. This should definitely be your first step. Create a website.
Most programs offer very professional banners and buttons, but text links also work well.
See the links page for the best web site promotion programs. After signing up, see the links page for the best web site promotion programs. It's the combination of the amount of emails that you send, and the reason why you send them, that do the trick. Consider offering a free service, answering questions about a subject that you know a lot about. You can offer your free information service throuhg a web site, advertisements, etcetera.