Lightening the load (bike, components, rider and accessories) will also help.
On a related but somewhat different note, I have been very confused since seeing posts/articles about crank length.
To my mind, the longer the crank, the less effort it should take to operate it, based on simple leverage. As Archimedes is presumed to have said "give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth". Yet everything I've read seems to indicate the opposite...??