Martech

Clipping: the creator hack that’s catching fire with marketers

Brands are jumping on the clipping trend, but is it too good to be true?

Patrecia Meliana

03 Jun 2025 • 5 min read

If you've noticed an uptick in short, snappy clips promoting podcasts, events, or apps on your feed, you're not imagining it—welcome to the world of “clipping.”

What began as a scrappy audience-growth tactic among creators is now turning into a quietly powerful performance channel for advertisers.

This article explores what clipping is, how it works, why it’s gaining steam in 2025, and what marketers need to watch out for as the line between creator engagement and paid media keeps blurring.

Short on time?

Here’s a table of contents for quick access:

What is clipping?

Clipping is the practice of sharing short-form video excerpts from longer content—think podcasts, livestreams, or YouTube videos—on social platforms like TikTok, X, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. The clips can either promote the original content or a third-party brand.

Initially used by creators to boost visibility, clipping has now evolved into a two-sided ecosystem:

Marketers commission clips and pay for distribution.
Clippers (creators or accounts) post the clips and earn per view, often via platforms like Discord or Whop.

How does clipping work for brands?

Brands or creators set “bounties” on platforms like Whop, uploading video assets and defining payout tiers—typically US$1–5 per 1,000 verified views, with a capped budget. Clippers race to publish these assets across multiple accounts and platforms, leveraging either their organic reach or a network of low-follower, high-volume burner accounts.

This creates a fast-moving micro-economy: post the clip, rack up views, submit screenshots, get paid.

Whop, which formalized this formerly backchannel activity, claims it’s now generating over 3.5 billion social views, with over 100 million views daily. The company takes a 10% cut of commissions, while marketers get exposure at relatively low cost.

Why marketers are paying attention

Reach without the influencer markup Big-name influencers come with big fees. Clipping allows brands to tap into creator culture without long-term deals, scripted posts, or creative overhead. It’s fast, cheap, and performance-based.
Audience trust via parasocial credibility Many followers see clips as organic recommendations—even when they’re paid placements. Because clippers often intersperse sponsored content among regular viral posts, the paid ads feel less like ads.
Enterprise brands are entering According to one clipper, the practice has pulled in “enterprise clients” worth over US$100 million in market cap. Even niche apps like Autopilot and Neurodrops have spent over US$12,000 since March.

While clipping can drive explosive reach, marketers shouldn’t ignore the legal and reputational risks:

FTC compliance is murky

Many clips fail to disclose that they're ads—despite U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines requiring it. Smaller brands may fly under the radar, but legal experts warn that middlemen like Whop could eventually face scrutiny.

No enforcement mechanism (yet)

Whop's terms of service ask clippers to follow FTC rules, but enforcement is practically nonexistent. That creates exposure risk, especially for financial, AI, or crypto advertisers already operating in gray areas.

Brand safety is inconsistent

Clips may appear alongside controversial or low-quality content, especially when distributed by faceless burner accounts. Unlike traditional influencer deals, brands have less control over context and environment.

What marketers should know

1. Clipping is curation—not creation. Think of clippers as content DJs, surfacing the most potent 30 seconds from hours of material. If your brand already creates rich content, this strategy could help you squeeze more value from it.

2. Pay attention to disclosure practices. Don’t assume clippers will follow legal norms. Create your own guidelines, track postings, and bake in messaging around #ad disclosures if you're in a regulated space.

3. This is not a replacement for influencer marketing. Clipping works well for top-of-funnel amplification—but it won’t build relationships, generate trust, or substitute for long-form storytelling. Use it as a complement, not a core.

4. Watch the platforms—not just the clippers. If platforms like TikTok or Instagram crack down on undisclosed ads or start throttling clipped content, the economics could shift quickly. Stay informed and diversify your content bets.

Recommended tools to help marketers in clipping

To help streamline your clipping campaigns and ensure you’re maximizing ROI while staying compliant, here are a few tools worth exploring:

1. Whop (Clipping bounty platform)

Whop is currently the most prominent clipping marketplace. It allows marketers to upload clip assets, set bounties (view-based payouts), and tap into a network of clippers. Whop also tracks verified views and automates payouts, making the process more scalable and less reliant on Discord backchannels.

Use it for: Campaign execution, bounty management, and performance tracking.
Risk tip: Ensure you monitor compliance and follow up with clippers who skip FTC disclosures.

2. Archive.org or YouTube Studio (Clip sourcing & rights management)

If you're clipping content from your own longer-form videos or archived streams, these platforms can help with sourcing the right moments and tracking reuse.

Use it for: Accessing longform source content and trimming clips with timestamps.
Risk tip: Only use content you own or have permission to promote—clipping copyrighted material without clearance is risky.

3. Opus Clip or Descript (Auto-clipping tools with AI)

AI-powered tools like Opus Clip and Descript help automate the process of finding clip-worthy moments in long videos. They analyze transcripts, identify high-engagement segments, and format vertical videos optimized for TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

Use it for: Speeding up content repurposing and scaling clip generation.
Bonus: Tools like Descript also offer auto-captioning and basic video editing.

4. Notch or Impact.com (Influencer & content attribution)

Since clipping often involves working with creators and micro-publishers, platforms like Impact.com can help with tracking who posted what, measuring attribution, and verifying influence metrics beyond just views.

Use it for: Performance tracking, influencer payout management, and content oversight.
Pro tip: Use these tools to build lists of high-performing clippers for repeat campaigns.

5. FTC disclosure checkers (Compliance monitoring)

While no tool currently automates clipping disclosure enforcement, manual monitoring via social listening platforms like Brandwatch or Mention can help you track clip placements and catch violations.

Use it for: Spot-checking undisclosed ads and ensuring brand-safe distribution.
Future-proofing tip: Consider embedding your own watermarked #ad tags directly into clip files.

Clipping might feel like a creator-side hustle, but in 2025 it’s emerging as a legitimate performance channel for marketers. Like any new tactic, it comes with trade-offs—cost-effective reach at the expense of control, disclosure risks, and murky attribution.

Marketers who jump in now should move fast, stay vigilant, and treat clipping as an experimental layer in a broader multichannel strategy.

This post is created by ContentGrow, providing scalable and tailored content creation services for B2B brands and publishers worldwide. Book a discovery call to learn more.