I started a year ago and it was the same situation back then. I have now 750 images on Shutterstock, and over 800 on other agencies. Shutterstock is now earning me 300 dollar a month, FAA about 200 dollar, Fotolia 50 dollar a month and all the other agencies 10-15 dollar a month. My portfolio is very average but its a nice mix of everything. So within a year I went from 0 dollar to about 600 dollar a month. Some people do worse, some people do a lot better.

Yes there is room to make money, you just need to find your niche, find a sweet spot, create the best images you can create, and try to find subject that isnt covered to oblivion.

My best sellers are remarkably simple images, one image in fact has horrible colors, but its selling 1-3 times per day. You never know what is going to be the next hit in your portfolio. Some images I think are really good never sell. Its always the ones you like the least.

Its hard to tell what is the key to success but a good start is creating technically perfect images and images that address current day issues or stories. Conceptual images can do well. Competition is fierce, its your job to find your place in the ranking.