How to hire a clipping agency
A good clipping agency takes a whole job off your team: recruiting clippers, reviewing what they post, answering their questions and reporting the results. The hard part is telling a good one from a good sales deck, and that comes down to a handful of checks.
What a clipping agency actually does
- Turns your goal into a brief that clippers can follow.
- Finds and recruits clippers, usually from a community it already has.
- Reviews submissions so off-brand clips don't get paid.
- Answers creator questions while the campaign runs.
- Tracks views, catches fake ones and reports the results.
Do you need one?
A quick way to decide
- Hire an agency if
- Nobody on your team can review clips most days, you have no creator community, or you want one accountable partner.
- Run it yourself if
- You have a clear brief, a few hours a week, and you want to learn the channel first-hand.
- Not sure?
- Read clipping agency vs clipping platform to see how the two compare.
How to hire one, step by step
- 1
Decide what success means
Pick one main goal, such as views, app installs, streams or sales, and say how you'll measure it.
- 2
Set a test budget
Choose an amount you can spend to learn, rather than your full-year plan. See what a clipping agency costs for how to size it.
- 3
Shortlist two or three agencies
Look for work in your category. A music campaign and an app launch need different briefs and different clippers.
- 4
Ask for evidence
Request real campaign results, ideally with a live analytics link rather than a screenshot.
- 5
Compare written quotes
Get the creator budget, service fee and production cost as separate lines, then compare the all-in cost per 1,000 verified views.
- 6
Start with one campaign
A short first campaign tells you more than any pitch. Agree the review process and reporting before it starts.
Questions to ask on the call
- How do you detect bots, and what happens to money paid on fake views?
- Who approves clips, and how quickly?
- Can I see results per clip while the campaign is live?
- How big is your active clipper community, and which countries are they in?
- Who answers creators when they have questions?
- What happens to budget that isn't spent?
- How do I stop, and what's the notice period?
- Who will I actually be working with day to day?
Warning signs
- Guaranteed viral results or view counts with no explanation of how they're verified.
- Case studies that show only total views, with no spend or timeframe.
- No access to clip-level data.
- Pressure to sign a long contract before a first campaign.
- Vague answers about who the clippers are or how they're paid.
What to prepare before the first call
- A link to what you're promoting, and any footage you have the rights to use.
- Your main goal and rough budget.
- Your launch date, if you have one.
- Anything clips must not say or show, including disclosure requirements.
- Two or three examples of short videos you like.
How it works through Shoot
On a managed campaign, a verified agency handles recruiting, reviews every submission and answers creator questions, and you approve the spend and see live analytics. Book a call and we'll go through your goals. You can also compare options in the best clipping agencies in 2026.
Frequently asked
How long does it take to launch with a clipping agency?+
Often days rather than weeks once the brief and budget are agreed, though it depends on the agency and how ready your source material is. Ask for a timeline before you sign.
Do I still approve the content?+
That depends on the agreement. Some agencies review everything for you and others share approval. If brand safety matters, agree in writing who has the final say and how quickly decisions get made.
Do I need to provide footage?+
Usually you provide some source material, such as a podcast, music, product footage or an ad. Some agencies can produce it for an extra fee, so ask what's included.
Should I sign a long contract?+
It's safest to start with a single campaign. Once you have real results, you'll know whether a longer commitment makes sense.
What's the difference between a clipping agency and a clipping platform?+
An agency runs the campaign for you. A platform gives you the tools to run it yourself. Some agencies run their campaigns on a platform, so the two can work together.
Related guides
How much does a clipping agency cost?
A clipping agency usually costs a creator budget plus a service fee, and published rates run from about $0.10 to $3 per 1,000 views depending on the agency and the campaign. Published minimums range from none to around $30,000. Your real number is total spend divided by verified views, so ask for that before you sign.
Clipping agency vs clipping platform: what should it cost?
Clipping agencies typically charge a monthly retainer — commonly in the low thousands and up — on top of the money that reaches creators. Self-serve platforms skip the retainer and charge on the campaign itself, so more of the budget converts to views. Agencies are worth it when you need the managed service; platforms win when you mainly need distribution.
How to run a clipping campaign
Running a clipping campaign means supplying source material, writing a brief tight enough to produce usable clips, setting a per-view rate and budget, choosing platforms, then approving submissions as they arrive. The brief and the approval turnaround do more for results than the rate does.
How this works on Shoot
How to launch a campaign (for brands)
Build a campaign in the wizard — basics, budget, platforms & pay, content rules, access & proof — then fund it. Creators post clips, you approve them from a real-time queue, and you pay only for approved performance.
How campaign funding and escrow works
Brands fund a campaign's budget up front and those funds are held until creators' approved work clears. Approved creators are paid automatically; Shoot's 7% is charged on payouts and on budget returned unspent.
What's the minimum campaign budget?
The minimum budget to launch a campaign on Shoot is $500. Creators are only paid for approved views; Shoot's 7% applies to payouts and to budget you take back unspent.
Want someone to run it for you?
Book a call and we'll talk through your goals, your budget and having a verified agency run the campaign.
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Last updated 2026-11-01