It all depends on a persons published article count, chosen keywords and
SEO, and of course their promotion tactics. What's your approx. article count if you're only pulling $5 a month? With all of my accounts combined I'm averaging $400-$500 a month from just PV's, with my main account being a clout 10. Building high PV payments should be looked at as a longterm goal which is why I don't risk trying to use bought traffic anymore.
I outlined a system about 15 pages back in the made $30" thread that talks about how to keep your W9 unverified accounts pulling performance payments as long as possible. The more room you leave yourself as far as when you stop submitting to an account for upfronts, the better. Spread it out over multiple accounts and you'll be in good shape.