1. Proactively do free work for people who need it, by way of introduction. I have had readers on my blog who have been so annoyed by my bad design they've gone out of their way to send me free designs for my needs (I've never accepted any, but mainly because I am very careful to not spend more on my blog than it earns)
2. In establishing a new brand, think PR, not marketing. See Al Ries "The fall of advertising and the rise of PR." Create a great infographic or something, based on something that's already going viral, or some buzzworthy news that's doing the rounds.
3. Create and publish an online comic strip as your ongoing content-marketing outlet. If you don't have the right narrative sense, either partner, or make your blog about some other kind of fun content that derives from your media skills.
4. Take a couple of pro-bono non-profit clients to prime the pump.
5. Testimonials, testimonials, testimonials. Get 'em any way you can.
6. Read Jeremy Epstein's blog, Never Stop Marketing. I was amazed by how quickly he bootstrapped from 0-200mph in just 1 year, racking up an impressive number of clients.

Keep the overall brand-building strategy in mind: you are trying to create a long-term asset, so even though 4/5 of the items above are short-term bootstrapping ideas, your True North is item #3.