I’m not making it up. Darren, and a bunch of his commenters, say it loud and clear. Bold emphasis is mine.

I’ve been running it in a ’split test’ with Chitika ads in one position (ie 50% of the time I display a Chitika ad unit and 50% a WidgetBucks unit) and to this point the WidgetBucks ad is earning more on a CPM basis than the Chitika unit (it’s still early days on that test though). The CTR is higher on the WidgetBucks ad but the click value is higher on the Chitika ads.

I’ve also done split tests with AdSense and found that WidgetBucks out performed them also.

As a result of all this – I’m earning more with WidgetBucks than I would have with ads in the same positions as with either Chitika and AdSense (and considering that they are my two biggest earners that’s pretty good).

Wow, that’s amazing to hear and great news for my friends at Mpire. Congrats guys! More about high performance over at my buddy Zac’s super affiliate blog.

Last week I helped a company called Mpire launch a new shopping widget called WidgetBucks.com. I was brought in to help them get the “buzz” going and get people talking and bloggers blogging about it.

I guess I did a good job, because in one-week they went from 0 signups… to 5,000 signups, as well as 25 million impressions from those signups.

It’s been a wild first week for WidgetBucks, the new ad network of shopping widgets. Launched Tuesday, Oct. 2, WidgetBucks has registered 5,000 publishers, bloggers and affiliates, as well as 25 million impressions during its first seven days.

Maybe someday I’ll write a long post telling exactly how I helped them, but for now, my specific methods remain a trade secret. :)

One thing is for sure though, if you’re going to put your name behind a product, you have to believe it’s going to work for people. WidgetBucks has the potential to earn for many. I hope it’s working out for you.

You’ve heard all the buzz about WidgetBucks.com new shopping widget? It’s lighting a fire around the blogosphere as we speak. Why? Because it’s pretty darn neat. It pays per click and pulls data from top shopping engines.

In my opinion, a VERY good alternative for bloggers and sites who want something more than Adsense.

You can also create widgets based on categories. Here’s a banner made for laptops.

Here’s another made for baby care products.

Full disclosure: I’m working with Mpire.com on some marketing strategies.

Don’t call it a comeback… it’s been here for years. I’m talking about webcams and live feeds of course. Hey, check me out LIVE on my webcam thingy on the right of this page.

It’s interesting to me how this whole “cam” thing has come full-circle. I remember in 1999 how the “cool thing” was to have an office webcam on. If you did that, you were cutting edge. Then slowly, that type of thinking, and fun webcam use (not by porn though) faded away.

But now it’s back to the average web user through use of widgets. I’m using Stickam.com for this live feed. Kinda neat. It’s no Justin.tv, but hey, who wants to watch me go to the bathroom and heat up leftovers?

What do you think? I’m torn. While I do think it’s very interesting to see a person live in their native habitat, I also don’t think I could watch more than a few minutes of someone staring at a monitor.

But there is something to be said for seeing the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings for the big blogging show they are creating. It allows the reader to build an even deeper vested relationship with the blogger, and that’s a good thing.

Just don’t pick your nose or scratch yourself too much!

Hat tip to Cheezehead for this tool.

I’ve been hard at work adding blogs to my How To Be Successful Online BUMPzee community. You can read more about the community launch in my previous entry here.

Tonight I added about 30 new blogs into the community, all focused around providing content that is either about being an online entrepreneur, or just simply about helping online entrepreneurs succeed online.

If you have a blog that is focused on those types of things, go and see if I added your blog. If not, add it yourself! We’re up to 18 members and 48 blogs in the feed.

I updated the community description too.

The How To Be Successful Online community is for online entrepreneurs who are interested in learning how to be successful on the Internet. The blogs and members of this community will focus on and discuss the world of Internet marketing, professional blogging, entrepreneurism and making money online.

Today I was part of a panel on Web 2.0 over the ecomXpo, moderated by Shawn Collins, and including me, Scott Jangro and Sam Harrelson. It was entitled ‘Web 2.0: Views from the Thought Shapers’.

Pretty cool panel. We discussed a list of about 43 web 2.0 websites and widgets and gave our thoughts on each. Shawn has a list of the sites on his blog here.

Beyond just talking about those sites listed and some widgets, I specifically wanted to make one major point, which I will share here now.

Widgets, Web 2.0 Applications & Everything Else You Build Online Are A Waste Of Time Unless They Are Easy To Use, Easy To Understand & Solve A Particular Problem

People come to the Internet to have their problems solved, or to have fun. So if you are thinking about creating a widget or web 2.0 application, perhaps you should first ask yourself “how will this solve a problem for my target?” Then, and only then, when you have a clear answer should you proceed.

Case in point, you all know I LOVE BUMPzee. Why?

Because it solves problems for me. It saves me time. It exposes me to new sources of content in my niche without me having to work to find it. It connects me with people in my industry.

Oh yeah, and it’s fun to go there every day and follow conversations real time. Not to mention that the widget allows people to bump my stories up which provides my own blog and thoughts with more exposure.

Solve problems, and you’ll win.