Hi,
Don't worry, Hypnosis isn't magic, you already do it to yourself every day, maybe even every hour, I think the main reason these things are being popularized is more like spreading ridiculous information on it so that when people experience it, they simply chuck it to the side as ineffective.
If you would like, a highly recommended book would be My Voice Will Go With You, and anything by Milton Erickson. He does have a very interesting and effective self-hypnosis technique, not discussed in MVWGWY. Unfortunately, I can't find the text right now, but essentially, and it's the technique that I use is a kind of indirect hypnosis. Before going to bed, I will do some deep breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and I will give some thought to what I want to accomplish, though I normally use this for say a difficult programming project, or simply needing to wake up in the morning and remember to do something, and then I will ask myself something to the effect of: "I wonder what method my unconscious mind thinks I should use to accomplish X. What if it could help me to accomplish my tasks."
Normally, I find that self-hypnosis CDs don't really help or work very well on me, firstly, because they are rarely self-hypnosis, they are direct hypnosis, and a static CD or audio recording feels bland and boring, I also have a serious intellectual block for clumsy induction routines, not saying I am not suggestable, but that really has nothing to do with it. Suggestability is a function of 4 things: Liking, Authority, Indebtedness, and Social Proof. You are suggestable to people you like, people who are an authority, people you are indebted too, and in general to the movements of your social group. The more present these things are, the more likely you will be suggestable. It's hard to take something to heart from someone you don't like, someone who is obviously incompetent, someone you have no reason to listen to, or someone who is not part of your social group in anyway.
Another method, and a good one, of self-hypnosis, is to place a monotonous sound near you and begin to count it as you breathe deeply, in through your nose, out through your mouth, or nose, whichever you prefer. It's good to take a pause for a moment, don't try to force yourself into a trance, because you'll naturally start questioning whether it's working or not, this is actually good, stop for a moment and start over, with each iteration, it gets easier. This is called Fractionation, or at least, that's how I have heard it called, though apparently, this is not so common a term...
That gets you into a trance state, but what to do when you are there is the hard part. A couple of good ideas are:
Think before you start about what you want to accomplish, try condensing it into a sentence that is very ambiguous. The techniques of ambiguity only take a moment to learn, but they are Nominalisation, Index Ambiguity/Deletion, and Verb ambiguity. Nominalisations are nouns that cannot be put in a wheelbarrow, thinking, knowledge, plans, ideas, strategies, love, understandings, learnings. Index Ambiguity are things that a person can easily apply to themselves. For instance, "People find themselves easily acquiring mathematical learning when they practice daily". Index deletion is simple as well, in the previous sentence, they practice daily is an example of index deletion. What do they practice? Yoga? Pilates? Addition? Subtraction? Algebra? Ambiguous verbs are harder to explain, but simply put, they are more or less intangible/non-observable actions. I think, solve, riddle, ponder,change, wonder, become aware, sense etc.
As a general rule, direct commands are ineffective, it's best to have an idea of the goal, and no specific expectation or plan about how you are going to accomplish this, many people try to hypnotize themselves, and then deliver an illogical or comical plan to their subconscious, don't do that, simply decide on what you want, write it out, or draw a picture representing it, doesn't matter if you can draw well or not.
Once you are in the trance, and begin wondering, pondering, or considering your goal, and ideas about that goal, being as indirect as possible, you may want to setup some kind of anchor, not necessarily connected with the trance, but more or less with the idea or goal. Anchors can really be anything, they can be thoughts, colors, words, even ideas or other anchors, but a good one is to think before you start about something common, but not too common, in your environment. I call this the punch bug anchor theory. You know that game of punch bug? Whenever you see a volkswagon beetle, you punch the person next to you and say "Punch bug, no punch backs." It's a stupid child's game, and my friends would play this constantly. You don't think it, but actually, if you agree to play this game, you'll get punched alot. Until you are looking for them, you never notice how many volkswagon beetles there are on the road.
So to apply the method, find something in your environment that is common enough to be present 3-4 times per day, and attach to it the idea of remembering your goal, this could be whenever you see a volkswagon, or hear a specific word, or see a certain color shirt etc. Again, be indirect in setting it up, and be sure to do it at least 3 times, and to reinforce your anchor each session.
It's also a good idea to setup an anchor to remember setting up an anchor, and to set one up to remember to do your self-hypnosis.
In the end, all hypnosis is a kind of self-hypnosis, because you need to feel comfortable and receptive to being led somewhere, that is, in a trance, but don't be afraid, you can always stop and come back up. The whole idea of some guy with intense eyes mesmerizing you is more fiction that fact, and you can always stop and leave, or not listen.
Well, I hope this helps, just some random ideas.