How a 20-year-old built a $35k/month clipping agency

Executive overview

Most brands want views but lack a cost-effective way to distribute content at scale. A clipping agency solves this by recruiting thousands of short-form creators to repost a brand's raw footage, paying them only for views generated — $1 per 1,000 views.

Evan Clipping Culture went from $88 in his bank account to $35,000/month profit in 11 months using this model, built on Whop as his infrastructure layer.

The core insight: brands pay $7–20 CPM on Meta/Google ads; clipping delivers the same reach at $1–2 CPM, making it 10–20x cheaper per view.

How the business model works

• Brands hand over raw content (podcasts, trailers, gameplay footage)
• An army of clippers edits and reposts it to TikTok and Instagram
• Clippers are paid $1–2 per 1,000 views on a performance basis
• Agency takes 30% of campaign spend (e.g. $3,000 on a $10,000 budget)
• High-spend clients ($50K+/month) move to a retainer: $15,000/month + 10%
• Clients only pay for results; zero upfront risk for the brand

Getting the first client

• Sent hundreds of outreach DMs with no proof or case studies early on
• Key tactic: DM prospective clients from a meme page account (paid $50) to appear credible
• Cold DM formula: name the specific outcome and a clear timeframe ("10 million views in 40 days")
• Targeted prospects by going through the following list of large creators in the same niche
• First client (Young Marter, music artist) generated 20 million views in under 24 hours on a $2,000 budget
• That result unlocked referrals immediately — next clients came via the same team

Growing from $600 to $35k/month

• First month: $600 from Young Marter campaign
• Month 3: hit $10,000/month
• Growth path: outreach → first result → referrals → referrals snowball
• Content creation ran in parallel: posted short-form videos explaining each campaign result
• Website was the inflection point — calls spiked after launch
• Website structure: view count proof, client logos, VSL, social proof, simple 3-step process, booking calendar
• Referral programme: 15% commission on referred clients' profit

Building and managing the clipper community

• 38,000 clippers inside the Whop community (growing ~1,000/day during active campaigns)
• Free clipping course inside the community covers account setup and basic editing
• Initial clipper supply came from a partner's meme page network
• Discoverability on Whop's Content Rewards "Discover" page drives organic inflow
• Clippers submit video links; mod team reviews for compliance before approving
• Only submissions above 1,000 views are reviewed — below that, not worth the time
• Having many concurrent campaigns is the retention mechanism; clippers never need to go elsewhere

Setting up a campaign (the operational workflow)

• Create campaign in Whop's Content Rewards app: name, description, image, budget
• Set budget at 70% of client payment (the 30% remainder is the agency fee)
• Set CPM rate by platform: TikTok typically $2, Instagram $1 (easier virality = lower CPM)
• Link a Google Doc with all creative requirements for clippers
• Optional: require demographic screenshot so client can see audience breakdown
• Send client a direct deposit link for the campaign budget, plus a separate checkout link for the agency fee
• Campaign goes live instantly on card deposit; clippers can see and join within hours

Types of clients and campaign goals

• Music artists: goal is streams and sound adoption on TikTok (platform pushes sounds with high attach rate)
• Gaming companies: awareness around new season launches, not installs
• Movies: clips of trailers or scenes drive theatre attendance and streaming; entertainment content spreads easier than branded content
• E-commerce brands: clipping works best for wide-reach awareness; Facebook ads remain better for direct-response ROI
• Clipping is a "billboard" model — cast wide, accept mixed audience, rely on 1% conversion at scale

Cost efficiency versus traditional advertising

• Meta/Google CPM: $10–20 per 1,000 views
• Clipping CPM: $1–2 per 1,000 views
• 30 million views via clipping: ~$7,000; equivalent spend on paid ads: $300,000–$600,000
• Limitation: brand awareness is the primary output; direct attribution is harder to prove

How to start as a beginner

• Start as a clipper first: find a campaign on Whop's Discover page for content you already consume
• Post a clip from your personal account — account creation is free
• Once you understand the mechanics, transition to agency: source a brand, get a budget, set up the campaign, connect clippers
• You become the middleman; Whop handles payments, campaign management, and clipper payouts