There are a lot of ways to make a thousand links a month. But it can be quite troublesome if google will think that you are over doing the backlinking process. What I do for making backlinks is, I write an article. Then spin it using a free spinner from easyarticlespinner.net then once I get the unique spun results, I submit them all to article sites I know. Thats how I build my links. So far, this process is effective.
I'm not an expert about SEO, but I am pretty positive that it's all about the QUALITY of the links rather than the quantity.
Quality Backlinks surely are the key. You want High PR and anchor text. Here is some information http://www.autobacklinkservice.com/backlinks.html That's what makes a quality backlink
Def! Leave it to the professionals. Finding your own backlinks takes forever. And a backlink service is very affordable
For me, do blog commenting and social bookmarking still work for me. And don't forget it must dofollow