Same here. It has turned into the worst disaster since they did all the changes 1.5 years ago, and it just constantly got worse, even if they been trying to now reverse all their changes and do even more freemium approach than they ever did. They pushed away a lot of the traffic that was there, members going to other sites.
My solution was to start streaming at the same time on Streamate, and it has saved my ass big time. I still do LJ at the same time, for my old members that did not transit and do very long pvts, but at least SM keeps me much busier, and since LJ lowered our % close to nothing, I end up making much much more on SM since a long time. That is due to 1st, having way more new members (really rare on LJ), which are also more willing to pay, and super polite... the tip menu is also a great way to still make money while in free and still only providing mild tease that suits you, and if your regulars subscribe through your referral link, you make an additional 40% to the usual 30%-35% (depending where you live). so 70-75%. Also, and not the least, while most members on LJ don't pay more than 2.99-3.99, its common on SM to be busier with much higher rate, since the site doesnt take a cut right away from the cost the member pay/min (they loose less $/gold on SM than $/credits on LJ).
These 2 sites at the same time work very well together, and you get a wider audience, from different regions and time peaks, so beside helping to make your time online more worthwhile, it helps to keep a good mood and motivation, which helps working also longer hours.
I wish you luck!
