Hello there. Is it just me or does anyone else find it ridiculously hard to get people to come down to your gigs?

It seems people are only respected and re-booked by the size of their following, followings are usually started by friends.. eg. getting lots of friends to a gig, build a buzz get new people down..... what happens when one does not have a large amount of friends to come to your gig?... u seem to be looked down upon then and then not booked again...... tis a vicious circle... something needs to be done.... any suggestions?
x