Hi Ted -
Welcome to the forum and good post and topic! You have a chance of winning our contest that ends in a few days
I have found a few good tips for getting traffic to my websites. Some of the most easiest ones is by simply posting links to my sites in some of the busier forums. A link to your website in your signature helps as well. I am not that familiar with the Craigs list tricks, never really went down that path. Many people have mentioned it recently. I generate a lot of traffic by offering my products for sale at Clickbank. For only $49 you can list your products for sale. Now, you have their entire army of affiliates promoting your website. In addition, you get listed in their MarketPlace and this generates tons of clicks.
Regarding email marketing: The quickest way to build an email list is by giving away one of your products or ebooks for free. Simply setup an autoresponder and require your visitors to enter an email in return for your free ebook or product. Now you have an email that you can use to build a a slow relationship with your prospect. Over time, you can begin to offer them new products etc.. I would be curious to hear more thoughts and feedback on the subject.
Dan