» October 1, 2007 in
Update: This post is already dated, and only 9 hours later ;-) The section about their affiliate program was an honest first impression. They have since updated their program to something much more enticing.
WidgetBucks is the newest ad-network / widget to put on your site and make money from it. I spend some time playing with the new widget this evening so I thought I'd offer you an introduction.
The widget looks something like this and does it's best to match the content of your site to the ads they show:
To get started with WidgetBucks the first thing you will need to do is sign up. WidgetBucks is currently offering you $25 free to sign up with them, payable when you reach your first payout of $50. In their words:
They also pay you $5 every time somebody you refer earns their first check. Click Here To Sign Up.
Once you are inside of WidgetBucks click on the "New Widget" tab and you will see a cool wizard to make your widget that looks like this.
Simply enter the few details they ask for and they give you some code to place in your template. You are now showing the WidgetBucks widget in your site and when people click it you get paid.
Once you've installed your WidgetBucks widget it's time to see who is doing what to your ads. The ad stats seem to be lagging real time by about one hour. You will find the stats under the "My Widgets" tab and they will look like this:
In one word, the WidgetBucks affiliate program is: LAME!
So lame that NOT A SINGLE WidgetBucks link in this post is an affiliate link.
You get a whopping $5 for referring somebody only IF they actually earn a check.
Mr. Kukral is playing buzzmeister for the WidgetBucks launch (that's who told me about it) so I'm sure you'll be hearing about it quite more than this post, however I wonder if having such a lame affiliate program won't slow it down?
Let's compare the affiliate program of WidgetBucks to the referral program of Chitika (who I consider one of their competitors)
WidgetBucks You get only $5 only if someone you refer gets their first paycheck. And that's all.
Chitika "You'll earn 10% of what your referrals earn" and here is the real kicker: "You're eligible to earn commissions for each referral for 15 months following each referral's approval date". Now THAT is an affiliate program.
And yes, those Chitika links are affiliate links ;-)
Did I mention the WidgetBucks affiliate program was lame? lol. But they do make it real easy to get those banners to maybe make that $5:
So I saw this image that says you keep 100% of the revenue if you are an amazon associates or ebay affiliate, but I couldn't find anywhere in the control panel how to take advantage of this? Let us know the details if you know them.
After putting the WidgetBucks on one site I think they do a decent job of matching their ads to your content if you choose the contextual option.
They aren't perfect, and niche or themed sites would probably do better, however I thought they were comparable to adsense in how often they made a good match vs. showing default or generic ads.
This is a good thing which will hopefully keep users interested and clicking.
WidgetBucks is a new widget to add to your blog that might make you some money. I write about it here because I'm actually trying it on some of my web pages.
If you've got a product oriented site I would give WidgetBucks a spin and see how they perform vs. some of the other ad blocks you are currently using.
However I would not join/promote WidgetBucks because of their affiliate program.
If you like this post then please consider subscribing to my full RSS feed. You can also Subscribe to 45n5 by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.
This is a little off topic but it is a complement :-) I been noticing that you have those funny 'subscribe picture' at the end of each of your post. So I am thinking of doing just that Muahahaha
I think it is a clever way to get subscribers.
---------------------------------------------------
Look like WidgetBuck just started and why aren't you referring?
I see maybe 7 or 8 posts about WidgetBucks on MoneyLinks right now. Many of them don't go into detail or provide any useful info. Just a string of "WidgetBucks Rocks", "Get in on the ground level!!!", "It’s lighting a fire around the blogosphere".
We’ve been listening to your feedback as WidgetBucks takes off and have decided to respond rapidly by improving our Referral Program. We will now pay a 10% Referral Fee on commissions for a year. If someone you refer earns $100, you get $10. The new details are going up on our site now.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Sean
VP Product Marketing, Mpire
I think saying that the affiliate program is lame was a bit harsh but I see where your coming from.
As Sean pointed out, they quickly offered a 10% referral commission because so many people wanted that. Normally I would agree 100% that any site which just gave you $5 was lame but I think that there is a much better chance of you making referrals because those who sign up get $25 in their account. Of course, without the 10% commission from those you refer, the commission you make would have quickly tailed off.
The main place I see widgetbucks failing is their CPM rate. I think that on average most bloggers will fail to get anywhere near $3CPM. It's too ambitious in my view. Tech blogs etc will probably convert well but personal blogs, dating blogs etc just won't get that rate in my opinion (hopefully I'm wrong).
hmm....alternative to auctionads and chitika? I must have a look see - might be good for my tech blog - that I have been slacking on so much.....so much work as a blogger and marketer....
> warriorblog
yea its interesting - and funny - I do not know why I click on them even though I am already subscribed - mark prob have good stats on them
@sean - thanks for listening and great move ;-) I'll update the post in a few.
@kevin - not harsh, just honest. Only $5, and only if somebody makes their first check is in my opinion very lame. I wrote that before they modified the program on first impression. As for the cpm I think you are spot on.
@ian - let us know how you do ;-)
Ok, so the WidgetBucks news is all over the place. I have thus signed up.
However, I don't see the $25 bonus anywhere on my account. Does this appear later - or any I just looking in the wrong places?
Yeah, that's not such a good ctr. But early days yet.
Have you found that it slows your site down at all? I have been experiencing a bit of slow down, and I have heard the same from others...
Ok, cheers. Maybe it is a host thing...
I like the way the ads look like. But I'm still wondering if they'll pay at the end. Anyway, I think they still have a long way to go to become a leading ppc program.
"i use widgetbucks but not make single cent"
Maybe your site is not suitable for their widgets. They still do not cover a lot of categories.
I would say, try with some referrals!
WidgetBucks is the newest ad-network / widget to put on your site and make money from it. I spend some time playing with the new widget this evening so I thought I'd offer you an introduction.
The widget looks something like this and does it's best to match the content of your site to the ads they show:
Sign Up For Widget Bucks
To get started with WidgetBucks the first thing you will need to do is sign up. WidgetBucks is currently offering you $25 free to sign up with them, payable when you reach your first payout of $50. In their words:
We're offering a $25 bonus to bloggers just for signing up. Once you earn $50 in your WidgetBucks account, BOOM!, the $25 bonus kicks in. It doesn't get much better than that.
They also pay you $5 every time somebody you refer earns their first check. Click Here To Sign Up.
Create A New Widget
Once you are inside of WidgetBucks click on the "New Widget" tab and you will see a cool wizard to make your widget that looks like this.
Simply enter the few details they ask for and they give you some code to place in your template. You are now showing the WidgetBucks widget in your site and when people click it you get paid.
Check Your Stats
Once you've installed your WidgetBucks widget it's time to see who is doing what to your ads. The ad stats seem to be lagging real time by about one hour. You will find the stats under the "My Widgets" tab and they will look like this:
Refer Your Friends - The Affiliate Program
In one word, the WidgetBucks affiliate program is: LAME!
So lame that NOT A SINGLE WidgetBucks link in this post is an affiliate link.
You get a whopping $5 for referring somebody only IF they actually earn a check.
Mr. Kukral is playing buzzmeister for the WidgetBucks launch (that's who told me about it) so I'm sure you'll be hearing about it quite more than this post, however I wonder if having such a lame affiliate program won't slow it down?
Let's compare the affiliate program of WidgetBucks to the referral program of Chitika (who I consider one of their competitors)
WidgetBucks You get only $5 only if someone you refer gets their first paycheck. And that's all.
Chitika "You'll earn 10% of what your referrals earn" and here is the real kicker: "You're eligible to earn commissions for each referral for 15 months following each referral's approval date". Now THAT is an affiliate program.
And yes, those Chitika links are affiliate links ;-)
Did I mention the WidgetBucks affiliate program was lame? lol. But they do make it real easy to get those banners to maybe make that $5:
Confused About Amazon And Ebay Affiliates With Widget Bucks
So I saw this image that says you keep 100% of the revenue if you are an amazon associates or ebay affiliate, but I couldn't find anywhere in the control panel how to take advantage of this? Let us know the details if you know them.
Relevancy Of The Ads
After putting the WidgetBucks on one site I think they do a decent job of matching their ads to your content if you choose the contextual option.
They aren't perfect, and niche or themed sites would probably do better, however I thought they were comparable to adsense in how often they made a good match vs. showing default or generic ads.
This is a good thing which will hopefully keep users interested and clicking.
In conclusion
WidgetBucks is a new widget to add to your blog that might make you some money. I write about it here because I'm actually trying it on some of my web pages.
If you've got a product oriented site I would give WidgetBucks a spin and see how they perform vs. some of the other ad blocks you are currently using.
However I would not join/promote WidgetBucks because of their affiliate program.
If you like this post then please consider subscribing to my full RSS feed. You can also Subscribe to 45n5 by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox.
WarriorBlog () says on October 1, 2007:
Hey Mark,This is a little off topic but it is a complement :-) I been noticing that you have those funny 'subscribe picture' at the end of each of your post. So I am thinking of doing just that Muahahaha
I think it is a clever way to get subscribers.
---------------------------------------------------
Look like WidgetBuck just started and why aren't you referring?
kitchendon () says on October 1, 2007:
Thanks for giving your opinion on WidgetBucks. I see maybe 7 or 8 posts about WidgetBucks on MoneyLinks right now. Many of them don't go into detail or provide any useful info. Just a string of "WidgetBucks Rocks", "Get in on the ground level!!!", "It’s lighting a fire around the blogosphere".
Sean Crotty says on October 2, 2007
We’ve been listening to your feedback as WidgetBucks takes off and have decided to respond rapidly by improving our Referral Program. We will now pay a 10% Referral Fee on commissions for a year. If someone you refer earns $100, you get $10. The new details are going up on our site now.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Sean
VP Product Marketing, Mpire
Kevin says on October 2, 2007
I think saying that the affiliate program is lame was a bit harsh but I see where your coming from.
As Sean pointed out, they quickly offered a 10% referral commission because so many people wanted that. Normally I would agree 100% that any site which just gave you $5 was lame but I think that there is a much better chance of you making referrals because those who sign up get $25 in their account. Of course, without the 10% commission from those you refer, the commission you make would have quickly tailed off.
The main place I see widgetbucks failing is their CPM rate. I think that on average most bloggers will fail to get anywhere near $3CPM. It's too ambitious in my view. Tech blogs etc will probably convert well but personal blogs, dating blogs etc just won't get that rate in my opinion (hopefully I'm wrong).
Iantrepreneur says on October 2, 2007
hmm....alternative to auctionads and chitika? I must have a look see - might be good for my tech blog - that I have been slacking on so much.....so much work as a blogger and marketer....
> warriorblog
yea its interesting - and funny - I do not know why I click on them even though I am already subscribed - mark prob have good stats on them
45n5 () says on October 2, 2007:
@warrior - yep trying to have some fun and at the same time introduce new visitors to my rss feed.@sean - thanks for listening and great move ;-) I'll update the post in a few.
@kevin - not harsh, just honest. Only $5, and only if somebody makes their first check is in my opinion very lame. I wrote that before they modified the program on first impression. As for the cpm I think you are spot on.
@ian - let us know how you do ;-)
Marcus says on October 2, 2007
Ok, so the WidgetBucks news is all over the place. I have thus signed up.
However, I don't see the $25 bonus anywhere on my account. Does this appear later - or any I just looking in the wrong places?
45n5 () says on October 2, 2007:
@marcus - i think the $25 shows up after you make your first $5045n5 () says on October 4, 2007:
@marcus I'm playing with it on a few product pages. I'm sitting at a 0.29% ctr at the moment so I hope it improves.Marcus says on October 4, 2007
Yeah, that's not such a good ctr. But early days yet.
Have you found that it slows your site down at all? I have been experiencing a bit of slow down, and I have heard the same from others...
45n5 () says on October 4, 2007:
@marcus - still new, no problems with load times I can see.Marcus says on October 4, 2007
Ok, cheers. Maybe it is a host thing...
roughy says on October 21, 2007
I like the way the ads look like. But I'm still wondering if they'll pay at the end. Anyway, I think they still have a long way to go to become a leading ppc program.
Morgy says on October 30, 2007
"i use widgetbucks but not make single cent"
Maybe your site is not suitable for their widgets. They still do not cover a lot of categories.
I would say, try with some referrals!
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