why not try contacting the webmasters and offering them free articles with a limited number say 2 outbound links, this is what i do and get a lot of takers
maybe thats exactly what Op needs to k now. @ OP, you can find link exchange partners here: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/forumdisplay.php?f=53
Google sites within your niche or perform a Google blog search. Then send an email to the webmaster. Don't trade blogroll links though, do a threeway exchange, where he gets a link from a third site that you have. Then he links to your money site.
Use sites like DP, WF and V7N. In fact most IM related forums have a link exchange area. One point that I feel is important and generally not talked about. I would suggest only trading links related to your niche in some way as a means to continue improving your user experience on your site. For example, on my wine site I probably shouldn't have a ton of links about IM.