In response to people saying this information is dated.... obviously it is, but I still found the guide extremely helpful. Just spent a large part of today setting up a site using the guide and messing with it a bit, going to share some of what helped me.
Don't use the sitemap generator in the OP, google webmaster tools doesn't seem to like it. Got it working using google-sitemap-generator (google it I can't post links...) off the wordpress .org site.
In addition to stumbleupon to find blogs to add to your feed, check technorati's top blogs for your keyword, then scroll down like 4 or 5 pages. Then you'll start getting into blogspot blogs that you can easily pull feeds from. Was faster for me than stumbling and finding garbage sites.
With regards to ads, I tried a couple different add plugins but really they were even more convoluted and confusing than just creating the ads in adsense (yes i'm using adsense, trying to go the WH traffic route instead of buying it

) and then pasting the code that adsense gives you into your template (put it in your template not in individual posts).
I am by no means an expert (even though I work in IT this is my first attempt at a site and wordpress in general). I do have coding knowledge which helped with getting everything together. For anyone skeptical about doing it, godaddy is having a hosting sale on their basic package for 2 bucks a month for 3 months (thats what I did) just to try it out and see how it goes. If it totally flops you're only out less than 10 bucks (.org/.net domains onsale for crazy cheap there too).
Ok... long post.... in closing... i'll report back in 3 months and let you guys know if I hit my goal (setting a low goal of 100 bucks in the 3 months i've got paid for in hosting). The site I made using the method is
todaystech .org
(still very much a work in progress.... but its getting there for only being a day old)
Feel free to pm me and I can try to help out with anything ya'll are running into since its fresh in my mind
