Is blogging a bad way to make money?

I'm starting to think, after 18 months, that blogging is a horrible way to make money. My ROI in terms of time and money spent is almost nil. I make pennies on adsense and that's it.



So the problem. I'm at a crossroads. I have about 200 subscribers, PR 3, and about 200 visitors per day and I'm thinking about scaling up the blog. Adding a forum, writing an ebook in exchange for email and name, using aweber to build an email list, affiliate marketing, etc, go nuts basically. But this niche does not allow me to show myself, pics, videos because it could hurt me in the 'real world'. So I feel limited.



So I have a choice start all over with a new blog project in a different niche were it is ok (i.e. socially acceptable) to show myself and not worry about hiring/job problems or something later and have the ability to brand myself. And I'd like to select a bigger niche with more potential.



OR



Say screw it and go in a completely opposite direction and go to ebay and amazon and try retail (although given the economic state who knows).



Man I am frustrated. Your detailed thoughts please.

I have a full time day job.



I'm looking for supplemental income...



Please no spam.

Hmmmmm. How about a real JOB?!?!?!?!?

Yep, I tried all that and got nowhere until I switched to selling on eBay and now I'm a power seller. The simple secret is to do a little research before you list anything on eBay because if you don't it's a crap shoot and you won't consistently make any money. What I use is Terapeak.com for research and they'll give you two weeks to try it out. I also use drop shippers so I don't have to worry about shipping and storing all the stuff I sell. It's all straightforward rather than worrying about SEO and positions on the net. Hope this helps.

check it

Well, my first question would be "Is it a niche that is profitable?"

If not, scrap it.

If so, then there are some things you can do to boost your blog income. I always have a primary and secondary method of generating income on every page of my blogs. Adsense is never my primary -- it's how I earn some coin from those who don't spend money.

I'd recommend also testing some affiliate programs - if there are good ones within your niche. Plus, you said you have a list? Be sure to be following up with them at least weekly sending them back to your blog.

That should help boost your income.

Plus, be sure you're focusing some of your time on generating more web traffic so your overall business model can grow.