WordPress blog, Web Editor or both?

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post and im a total newbie so be gentle!

I have been wanting to try this make money on this on line lark for a long time now, but had the usual problems of trying to build a web site and not getting far with the techie stuff.
Jumping from one plug in scheme to another and getting frustrated when finally realizing all the get rich quick schemes really were as useless as i first thought.

After xmas i was laid off work for a few weeks with the lousy economy and the bad weather.
It was then i realized if i was out of work for some time this would be an ideal income filler, even if i only made a few extra quid to supplement my lost income it could help, and having lots of time on my hands would be an advantage.
So i started delving a little deeper and have become fascinated by the whole business, especially by the guys who seem to have this almost on auto pilot, especially through membership sites. (are there membership sites that aren't devoted to the "make money on line" niche?)


I never realized exactly how complex the whole thing was and that the hardest part is the marketing of your site, not actually building it, and its hard enough to get it looking professional and then there's the whole S E O and keywords.
Now ive got the dreaded information overload.

Anyway i found komposer and Chris's Farrell's ebook how to build a web site by 3.45pm very easy to follow and quite fun having built a basic site, which was very encouraging especially after so many disappointments.

I then decided i was going to take this seriously and devote most of my spare time to it, (better than watching the crap on the telly anyway ) and try build one decent site for now, and then market it like mad for at least the next 9 months and build a list.
It's important for me to own my OWN website and be able to promote my own products over time as well as being an affiliate for other products.
Deciding on a niche that will make money and is not over populated is difficult in itself.
I thought of mabey concentrating on green energy niche, ive found some really interesting products, ebooks and money saving devices and systems, but that's probably overcrowded.

Anyway im rambling on a bit here, just thought id introduce myself and let you know were i'm at.

Back to my question...
I'm quite ashamed to say i have no interest and know next to nothing about blogs, at first believing they were platforms for people to post diaries on, i have totally ignored blogging and wordpress.

After learning all about komposer and deciding to use it for my first effort, I then read somewhere that Google absolutely loves wordpress and some marketers now just use a blog to promote from.

So should i learn all about wordpress and use this to build a website/blog or carry on with komposer or use both in some way.
Apparently there's a service called wordpress.com that is different from wordpress org, and not as flexible, im confused?:confused:

I know i should learn all about this as part of my i.m training, but it's yet another thing to add to the long list and im beginning to feel overwhelmed again after finally deciding to at least make a start!
I need a quick overview, some answers and info.
Thanks.
Jay.