I put up a banner farm and spammed IRC. Sadly, I didn't know any better. I didn't have any content, so this was the only think I knew to do.
The first sponsor I used was CyberErotica. I found out about affiliate programs by clicking a CE banner and then noticing the webmaster link on the site. I was like, "*GASP*! You mean I can make MONEY with this???"
LOL
I used Tripod for hosting at first. Then I realized they didn't allow adult and I later found Porn City. I used their free hosting to make sites with the free content from another sponsor, Sex Pyramid. I also made some sites with CyberErotica's free content. But those sites didn't get much traffic. I didn't know where to get traffic at that time.
After I got a free CD of content from a sex toy sponsor I made my first site that I didn't have to spam on IRC. I found Persian Kitty and she wouldn't list me because of the free host, so someone I knew that worked for another free host, FSN, let me have banner free hosting as a favor. She listed me (THANK YOU, PK!) and I made pretty good money with it.
Among other sponsors back then (1995 to 1998), my favorites at the time were CE, Busty Amateurs (it ROCKED!) and XPics. Babenet was also pretty good. That $.20 per click was nice and they always paid me.
Those were the days. I miss those days, but I am glad that now there are easier places to get traffic, more places to get good content at a fair price and cheaper hosting that I can actually afford. So I guess it's a fair tradeoff
