I can actually attempt an answer at that as I launched the e-mail newsletter off the back of the most popular Ruby blog which I also run.
I grew the blog to 25,000 RSS subscribers (as measured by FeedBurner) between 2006 and 2010 but the engagement and what those readers actually do pales in comparison to my 15,000 e-mail subscribers who click more and open more in vastly greater levels. I now believe, like many, that the numbers FeedBurner give out are mostly BS and don't give any hint of engagement at all.
Separate to this I've built a 30k strong JavaScript e-mail newsletter without any blog. This is a larger regular subscription base than most other JavaScript related sites I know of.. with the exception of Ajaxian which is now half dead.
So I can't say for sure because maybe I could make a blog work better, but in terms of engagement, how much money I can earn, etc, e-mail has been a huge win over blogging.
I grew the blog to 25,000 RSS subscribers (as measured by FeedBurner) between 2006 and 2010 but the engagement and what those readers actually do pales in comparison to my 15,000 e-mail subscribers who click more and open more in vastly greater levels. I now believe, like many, that the numbers FeedBurner give out are mostly BS and don't give any hint of engagement at all.
Separate to this I've built a 30k strong JavaScript e-mail newsletter without any blog. This is a larger regular subscription base than most other JavaScript related sites I know of.. with the exception of Ajaxian which is now half dead.
So I can't say for sure because maybe I could make a blog work better, but in terms of engagement, how much money I can earn, etc, e-mail has been a huge win over blogging.