The Mainstage blog

Guides for running creator campaigns.

Mainstage guides are step-by-step playbooks for operators running performance UGC campaigns across commissioned original content and clipping. Each one explains a specific decision: choosing a format, writing a brief creators can run without a call, setting approved-content or verified-view payouts, reviewing submissions against the rules, and verifying results before money moves. Start with the guide that matches the campaign format, then use the rest for the operating work around it.

19 posts

A miniature payout machine routing content tiles and measured signals into a lime-lit payout tray
Guides

How to pay creators: flat fee, views or both

Learn how to pay creators with flat fees, verified-view payouts or a hybrid. Compare each model, set clear rules and prevent payment disputes.

9 min read · July 20, 2026
A radial interview machine connecting one central question to six response frames and one lime-lit output
Guides

Street interview marketing: how to run a creator campaign

12 min read · July 20, 2026
A dual-input campaign machine feeding original and repurposed content into measured distribution channels
Guides

UGC marketing: plan, price and measure campaigns

16 min read · July 20, 2026
Three matching ceramic content plates form a triangle between a black submission plinth, a clear inspection chamber, and a steel payout puck.
Guides

What Is Performance Creative? Pay-Per-View Creator Ads

11 min read · July 12, 2026
A black bridge spans two white plinths on four clear supports, with one lime keystone completing the crossing for a single clip plate.
Guides

Is Clipping Worth It? When It Beats Paid Ads (and When Not)

13 min read · July 12, 2026
One black media card passes through a narrow steel aperture beside a clear prism that fans into many white distribution plates.
Guides

Clipping vs Paid Ads — When Each One Wins

12 min read · July 12, 2026
A large white ceramic bell under a clear hood sits beside a ring of many small black chimes with one lime resonator.
Guides

Clipping vs Influencer Marketing — Pay Per View or Per Post

13 min read · July 12, 2026
Twelve upright clip specimens feed a lime path that narrows across a clear bridge to one steel latch and a ceramic purchase object.
Guides

Clipping vs Affiliate Marketing — Views or Sales?

10 min read · July 12, 2026
Two identical handmade ceramic relief tiles sit inside a clear archival case and on a rail passing through a clear meter toward a lime payout disc.
Guides

Performance UGC vs UGC — Priced in Different Currencies

13 min read · July 12, 2026
A clear forensic prism exposes hollow black view tokens while one solid lime-cored token waits at a payout threshold.
Guides

How Clipping View Fraud Works (and How to Stop It)

13 min read · July 12, 2026
Seven different black platform structures stand behind four clear calibration rails on a white semicircular plinth.
Guides

The 10 Best Clipping Platforms for Brands (2026)

14 min read · July 12, 2026
Three contrasting vessels hold black view tokens, from an overflowing open bowl to a sealed pre-payout chamber with one verified lime core.
Guides

Best Content Rewards Platforms, Ranked by Who Blocks Fraud

14 min read · July 12, 2026
Five distinct optical editing instruments sit in a white museum tray, with a lime selection tab clipped beneath the collection.
Guides

Best AI Clipping Tools, Ranked by Cost Per Clip

11 min read · July 12, 2026
Four open ramps feed varied white tokens into a clear circular pool, with one lime token released through a review gate into a steel dish.
Guides

What is content rewards? The campaign model explained

8 min read · July 11, 2026
A black source strip passes through a steel cutting ring and separates into seven upright clip plates, ending at one lime selection plate.
Guides

What is clipping? The complete guide to clipping campaigns

11 min read · July 11, 2026
A looping paper ribbon divides into clip strips as it passes through briefing, review, verification, and payout checkpoints.
Guides

How to run a clipping campaign that actually pays out

11 min read · July 11, 2026
A framed ceramic relief of a hand holding a product sits beside one black source block connected to twelve clear posting apertures.
Guides

Clipping vs UGC: what's the difference and which do you need?

7 min read · July 11, 2026
Five black steps pair increasingly complex clip specimens with taller payout stacks under a clear cap plate and lime stop block.
Guides

How much to pay clippers: rates, payout models, and caps

11 min read · July 11, 2026
An eight-facet folded paper brief aligns a row of varied black clip tiles, with one tile receiving a lime approval tab.
Guides

How to write a clipping campaign brief creators can run

9 min read · July 11, 2026
Start a campaign

Reach you can’t buy with ads.

Commission original creator posts or turn existing media into native short-form. Set approved-content, verified-view, or hybrid payouts, then run briefs, review, verification, and reporting in one place.

Launch a campaign See how it works

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