The clipping economy is absolutely nuts

So…

The clipping economy is absolutely nuts.

71% of Gen Z now discovers all content through clips on social platforms.

Not some content. All of it.

I said this in the last newsletter but the Sidemen have paid up to £10k to whoever could get the most views clipping their content.

Because what clipping gives you is essentially, the ability to engineering omnipresence.

Quick interval if you don’t know what clipping is 👇️ 

Clipping is extracting short, engaging segments from longer videos - like podcasts, livestreams, or YouTube content - and republishing them as clips across TikTok, Reels, and Shorts.

As I said, engineering omnipresence.

Clips often generate more views than original content.

One well edited clip can get 5 million views and drive 100k people to the source.

The person making it might have 200 followers. Doesn't matter.

If they understand TikTok or Instagram Reels better than your team, they'll outperform everything you do internally.

Now - there’s a new platform called Whop, which you might have heard of, that's turned the whole thing into a marketplace.

• Creators post "bounties" (like "I'll pay £3 per 1,000 views for clips of this podcast")

• Clippers compete to generate maximum distribution

• The platform verifies views and handles payments

• Everyone wins

At the top of their game, clippers can earn ~£15,000-30,000/mo (as I said, this economy is absolutely nuts).

And to top it off - the influencer marketing industry hit $24 billion in 2024, and will hit $32.55 billion this year.

That's 35.6% year-over-year growth (I think a lot of that has been driven by short-form content and clips).

Why fighting it is pointless

Funny thing is - your content will get clipped whether you participate or not (just look at what happened to Outdoor Boys).

Platform algorithms now prioritise clip-friendly content.

And if you're not clippable, you risk being… invisible.

So it’s of no surprise that the solution is to (drumroll please 🥁) make your content clippable.

Every long-form piece needs multiple standalone moments.

Hooks, revelations, moments that work in 15-60 seconds.

You want to have (or develop) an eye for distribution, not just production.

Top creators and streamers are probably spending more on clip distribution than the actual content creation.

Makes sense when you think about it.

One piece of content, properly clipped and distributed, can reach 100x the audience of the original upload.

Psychology

I’m pretty sure we’re all aware of this by now, but short videos trigger dopamine release similar to gambling.

Creates what researchers call a "variable reward schedule."

People, literally, can't stop scrolling.

Clips engage our automatic processing system - the fast, emotion-driven part of the brain.

Traditional content requires controlled processing - careful reasoning, analysis.

Guess which one wins on social media.

And this isn't changing.

Platforms have built billion-dollar businesses on these mechanics.

They're not going to suddenly prioritise the other side.

But don’t get it twisted.

Long-form isn't dying.

It's just becoming source material.

A three-hour podcast becomes over 100 clips.

Each clip drives viewers back to the full episode.

It’s synergistic.

Which means the scarce resource of today isn't content, far from it actually.

It's attention, trust, and community.

Clipping, done right, can help build all three.

My advice? If you create long form content for your brand/business then you need to find your clippers.

They’re out there already.

Someone is 110% already clipping content in your niche.

Maybe even your competitors' content.

Find them. Pay them. Give them early access. Make them partners.

If you can’t do that - use a tool like Opus clip.

Whatever - just get on it!!

Remember, the creator mindset is all you need to grow 🌱

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