Self taught - blogs etc. see the links on my site for some of the central stuff. I started years ago with my own site, put things into high gear when all other job dreams I had fell through.
started learning abt the mega bucks that professional bloggers were making. It was INSANE.... then i felt that this was an area i cld do as a side-line, which cld allow me to start slow and get a hang of the ropes before venturing deeper. Beauty also is that it allows me to develop areas that i'm interested in. That's how my 1st site got started. Still learning now and still trying to grow
Experience is the most important factor. Eventhough I am not in the web developing business, I am in the domain industry for a few years and the case is similar. When I fist started I was just loosing my money due to lack of knowledge and experience. Reading as much as you can and draining knowledge from specialized forums such as this one is the first and most important step before attempting to invest your money into anything.
Just participate in the forums. Not just this one but others, as well. You'll learn all you need to do by participating.