The best way to distribute tokens if there's no ICOs or IEOs is through bounty and airdrop campaign.
Only brings in a bunch of spammers who dont care about the project and there for only dumping the coins on the bear market. A public or private sale is the first way to go, of course a private funding is often first to generate an initial backing before going public.
Marketing it should take the form of paying for ads in top websites as well as reaching out to known cryptocurrency influencers to talk about the project.
AKA altcoin shill masters? They have lost credibility among the knowledgeable community of the crypto ecosystem. Although these "shitfluencers" are still popular among the newbie crew who dont have the slightest idea of how the market works. Still they only function as advisors when it comes to the token economics. They will sell at a period known only between the owners and the advisors and the bagholders will suffer when they are holding those coins for years but the advisors sell before them. That has happened and led to the demise of majority of coins.