Darren Rowse reported on an interesting new way to monetize your blog called Widgetbucks. As he mentions, he hasn't tried it out yet, so is only going by what it looks like in contrast to other similar services. I haven't tried it yet either. If you're familiar with Chitika eMiniMalls, that's the feel it gives you.
As with any monetization of blogs with these types of ads, the more closely it mirrors your content, the better click-throughs you'll get.
Even so, it would be worth trying it and telling your customers you're trying it out and asking them for their feedback. Just be careful that it's legitimate feedback. Most people being asked will usually say they don't want an ad, so you're looking for those that actually give you some feedback on the mechanism itself, not just the usual rant.The included widgets come in a variety of sizes and can be customized to your preferred colors. You can also use MerchSense, which, as their FAQ page says, "It detects and analyzes the content of your website or blog to determine what product offers are most relevant to your audience. If you choose the MerchSense option when creating a new widget, simply place the code on your site and let MerchSense automatically provide the most appropriate ad content. MerchSense evaluates your editorial information daily, so, as your content changes, WidgetBucks will dynamically offer the highest-yielding products."
While that would be easy, it would probably not yield the types of results content-specific ads would. Widgetbucks claims a number of those now using the service get between $3-$6 CPM.
There is also a referral system included, but it's pretty lame in contrast to similar services. All they offer is a $5 payout when your referral reaches the first $25. In other words it's a motivator to sign someone up, but there's no financial incentive to help them get off the ground. That's something I would change if I were them, as they could leverage a large number of bloggers and marketers to help those they refer make more money, and so help them and their partners make more money as well.
This is worth trying out on a number of types of sites or blogs, but it will probably work better with blogs with very targeted content, especially that talk about products.
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