Most people set this number by instinct and get it wrong in one of two directions. Too low and the campaign sits untouched; too high and the pool empties on the first clip that travels. The reliable method is arithmetic, done before you publish.
Work backwards from reach
Decide what the campaign is for. If you want 200,000 people to see your content and you have $500 to spend, the rate is $500 divided by 200 thousands, which is $2.50 per thousand views. That is the whole calculation, and doing it in that order stops you inventing a rate and discovering the reach afterwards.
- →Pool ÷ (target views ÷ 1,000) = rate per 1,000.
- →$500 for 200,000 views → $2.50.
- →$1,000 for 500,000 views → $2.00.
- →$250 for 250,000 views → $1.00, which is thin but workable for content that travels.
Sanity-check against the band
Once you have a number, check it against what clippers actually accept. Under about $0.30 per thousand, experienced editors will not enter — the effort per clip is not covered at any plausible view count. Above about $5.00, you are almost certainly funding fewer views than you meant to, because the target was set too low for the pool.
Adjust for how clippable your content is
The rate is not only about your budget; it is about how hard the work is. Content full of standalone moments — debates, strong opinions, specific numbers, stories — clips easily and can carry a lower rate. Dense material where the good part needs ten minutes of setup is harder to clip and needs more to attract anyone competent.
- →Interviews and debates: the low end of the band works.
- →Solo commentary with clear arguments: mid band.
- →Technical or tutorial content: the high end, or reconsider the format.
- →Content nobody has clipped before: pay above the band for the first round, to get evidence.
Change it between rounds, not during
Adjusting a rate mid-campaign is a good way to lose the clippers who entered under the old one. Run short campaigns and reprice at the start of the next, once you know which clips travelled and how much of the pool actually got spent.
Set a rate and a pool, and see what clippers do with it.
Launch a campaign