How can i get (not expensive) traffic to my new site?

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I had often used blogger to blog away, and never did care much about traffic. But some friends in mylot told me that getting website could be a way to make money. It made sense but i had always thought getting traffic is costly ~ $500 per month (buying google ads, buying traffic, getting listed in good directories etc.) Are there some cheaper ways to get traffic to a new site? Somewhat the overall expense should not exceed $250-$300.