I used to get loads of traffic from forums and directories and this is partly because there was less competition out there but nowadays even as many more online marketing opportunities we have we are still focused towards search engines and the social aspects and networking amongst other bloggers is the driving force when it comes to traffic and building authority.
I have recently had the opportunity to do an interview on Zubin Kutar founder of WebtrafficROI, who is very well known in the blogger world and was voted top internet marketer and blogger in 2009.