Kimbo:
I mainly trade ETF's using the method espoused by ETF Trends: I often buy soon after a crossover of the 200 or 50 day moving average occurs, and sell off of a 7% high or a move below the avgs (whichever occurs first). Or, sometimes, primarily to protect gains, I use an inverse ETF (kind of like using options to protect).
I am looking into using collars (an option technique) on ETFs as a conservative insurance on gains technique.
Tony