How much money can you make with online file downloads?

I'm the lead developer of a modification for Minecraft called the 'Lucky Block Mod'. It is quite popular, with an average of 5000 downloads daily. When the file is downloaded, users are generally taken to a website, which has some ads, and then click a link to a file hosting service with some more ads. These are both custom-made services.

I'm currently earning an average of $1000/Month from this. I was wondering if, considering my amount of downloads, this is a good amount. I would be interested to know what other options people would recommend. I do not want to use those fill-in-survey sites. I'd be fine with something similar to adfly, but with a much longer wait (like 30 secs), if such a thing exists.

All I want to know is what the optimal amount of money I could make, and how it can be achieved. Of course, I want all of this to be safe and legitimate. Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Alex 10.05.2015

A/B testing is a Godsend in your situation. Split up your traffic into no more than four lots, and run it for 10 days. This will give you an idea on the conversion rate for each approach. From there, you just have to implement the highest converting method and tweak from there. CPA gateways are getting better, but it's understandable if you want to sway away from them. There are other ways to monetize, but your goal should be to grow.

Velvet 10.05.2015