Some people claim that it is becoming harder to make money at affiliate marketing these days but a new start-up incubator project in the UK is seeking to prove the naysayers wrong. The Zoo Project, reportedly financed by TradeDoubler to the tune of over $1.5 million, is seeking up to 20 performance marketing innovators to whom they can provide free office space, advice and support.
Start-up incubators have seen a lot of success in Silicon Valley, so it is great to see it applied to the performance marketing industry. And the principles of performance marketing apply perfectly to start-ups: publish, measure, iterate; so this could well lead to the creation of a number of new affiliate marketing concepts and companies. The Zoo Project is accepting applications until January 31, 2012. We’re interested to see how this idea develops over the next 12 months and if other networks pick it up and apply to the US market. It would be fantastic to see equivalent incubators organized in New York, L.A. and Chicago, for example.