I've only had one successful "ramp-up" to launch with a project that eventually didn't go anywhere[1], but here's what I did. For context, this was in the eSports/gaming space. I had an Excel sheet with ~500 game journalists and I emailed every. Single. One of them. With a semi-personalized email. I ended up being interviewed by Vice, Polygon, PCGamer, RedBull, and about a dozen others. I started also emailing podcasters and Twitch personalities and went on a few of these shows as well. I also was invited and attented an eSports Summit in London where I spoke on a panel (I had to spring for my flights and hotel). I networked like crazy there as well. Again, the project didn't quite go anywhere, but I was getting nibbles from a few investors.

In any case, that's the closest I've gotten and I've learned to appreciate the hustle. It was also, for me, much more difficult than the actual coding/building. Although it was neat gaining a bit of "clout," it was repetitive, monotone, and extremely draining.

[1] www.gameref.io