Basic SEO for Gray Hat Site

I'm looking to boost search engine rankings of a new site..
I'm fine with black hat methods just can't risk the domain gettingn sandboxed or banned.

I'm new to SEO stuff and basically know the keys are

1. Anchored backlinks
2. Posting relevant Articles and content on my site and others sites.

So, I'm looking at a basic plan to promote my site..

can anyone recommend the best options including the best tools? I don't mind paying for good software.

Thanks

MP