Sick of the gimmicks. What is the best way to make money online?

First, I am an experienced marketer and have experience building a traditional business but am hitting a wall online with building a significant audience or at least one that is capable of driving enough income to replace a traditional job.

Second, I am pretty tech saavy and am familiar with many of the online marketing tools from free to paid - senuke, gsa, interspire/mta, email platforms, autoresponders, landing pages and so on (you get the idea).

Third, I have tried affiliate marketing, list building to sell products, traffic generation, direct sales, gurus and on and on. 99% are gimmicks where there is no substance to the program or product.

I am tired of false starts and putting effort into things that have little to no payoff and I think one of three things is wrong. One - I keep heading down the wrong path. Two - I am doing things 100% wrong. Three - It is all a scam and there really is no income at the end of the rainbow.

Noob bashing is fine, but what would be better is if people who are successful would provide at least a starting point for those of us who are frustrated with trying and not getting ahead. Being no stranger to hard work, I am sick of the traditional lifestyle and always living in fear of layoffs and downsizing. I need and want a realistic model of how to be successful online. I understand that many who are successful don't want to give away the model, but I am betting that there are more than a few who are willing to share their success.

Please don't use this question to post more useless programs. It is time for a fresh start in online marketing so please post only those programs or systems where you have been successful and where you do not mind being the giving mentor willing to help those who only need to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks