Before I tell you what software I use to get links to my sites in the thousands let me first talk about this idea about your content attracting links. A lot of folks are under the impression that links acquired by the use of software are not 'real' links. To go along with this, these same folks thing that 'real' links come only from readers who so enjoyed your article that they link to it. This is what they mean when they talk about content attracting links.
This is nonsense! Yes, it is true that if you already have a blog or site with lots of traffic they will link to your best content. But what about those of us who have sites that really get no traffic? Simply putting great content on your site is not going to attract any links. How will anybody see your content if your site is on page 432 in the serps?
First you need to get some links to your site so that you can bring in some traffic. Then you might be able to look forward to attracting links from readers with great content.
I use Article Submitter Plus, by Brad Callen, to submit my articles to hundreds of article directories. I leave three links in the resource box. Most directories allow three links but some only allow two. It works out better to just put three links in the resource box because you end up getting an extra hundred or so links despite the fact that some article directories won't approve your article.
I use Fast Blog Finder to find relevant blogs to comment on. This is a great way to get some high PR links to your site. In my experience blog comment links are usually counted more quickly than links from articles or directories. A cheaper alternative is Comment Demon. It works great too but doesn't parse out the no follow from the do follow.
I use Directory Submitter, again by Brad Callen (he has created some really great Internet Marketing Products!!) to auto submit my sites to over 2000 directories. These submissions usually produce some nice clean do follow backlinks, featuring your all important anchor text.
I use Bookmarking Demon to get literally thousands of links from social bookmarking sites. You can really work this method in some creative ways. I am not going to get into that here as it goes beyond the scope of this article. Here I am merely disclosing the software I use to gain an advantage over those who don't use software.
With there four basic tools I get thousands of links in no time at all. It takes a lot of work and I stick to it. Even with the software it's hard to get as many links as you really need especially in tough competitive niches. You just can't get by without the help of software in todays market. Some consider it cheating a little bit...I'm OK with that!