Nice post, I also do manual link exchanges. Just not fond of linking software,,

Offer your visitors great content... and you can visit this free marketing tool site (http://www.mikes-marketing-tools.com/marketing-tips/)... hope this helps...

Ask yourself,, Who is your target market? age bracket, social status, etc., This will help you decide faster. But for me,, black and red, good luck!

In short you have to optimize your On page well to get a good Off page results...

Cscgal is right, make your site friendly user for human. Think of an appropriate keyword in which you think will work best. Submit your site to different directories and you are on a right track.....

Review your contents and your keywords.. That's all i can to say for now....

I agree with ~Calyxto~, Regular updates and submission may put you on top of the list... Regards!!!