Know-How Exchange : SEO/SEM

Your organic route is the way.

There are reasons for the horror stories you have heard about sites offering link building services.

The reason Google ranks pages the way it does is precisely so that you'll have to put a lot of effort into creating a good site if you want it at the top of the searches.
The best, quickest way to build links is to ensure your content is good and useful so people will link to you. Sorry, no quick fix!

Having some podcasts and submitting them to different podcast directories, I-tunes, feedburner, etc will build you some links. The think that I found interesting is that after submitting to a few podcast directories we were picked up by many different feed directories. This gave us many links quickly. The trick is to have some podcasts that people will be interested in.

There are not really in tricks to getting links. Your content has to be something people want to link to. Adding video, audio and a blog are all ways to give people different content to link to.

Mike

This is where a good search engine optimizer comes in. An integrated approach is typically the most successful. Generating compelling content is part of the equation. Link building is an important component of an engagement though. It is best left to white-hat professionals though to avoid potential hazards and misdirection.

Please post the web address, so that people can view it and have a solution posted. My strategy would be to clear your website and start from fresh by making wireframes and building your navigational or interaction design from scratch. Otherwise the clutter will grow ad you would not have space to factor in newer links. post your web address.

"My strategy would be to clear your website and start from fresh by making wireframes and building your navigational or interaction design from scratch."

At this point we know too little about the site to recommend trashing a site. As far as we know the OP's site could be exceptional.

"There are reasons for the horror stories you have heard about sites offering link building services."

Some link building strategies can be harmful but a good search engine optimization consultant would insist that you steer clear of those practices.

"The best, quickest way to build links is to ensure your content is good and useful so people will link to you. Sorry, no quick fix!"

This is excellent advice. Though, even the best web pages sometimes need a push. "If a tree falls in the woods..."

As far as the original question goes, there is no painless, cheap, easy, fast, good, solutions. It is a process. It takes time. You can do it yourself though it will take longer and you'll make more mistakes. If you factor in your opportunity cost and burn rate you'll probably find it's best to get some assistance.