Keep your channel fresh with uploads and playlists
A regular publishing schedule can draw viewers back to your channel to watch more. You can then use sections and playlists to help them easily find more of what they like on your channel.
Publish on a regular schedule
To stay in the forefront of viewers’ minds, many creators have found that setting a routine publishing schedule helps viewers to know when to expect their next release – it’s like anticipating the next episode of your favourite show. Subscribers can find your new uploads in their Subscriptions feed, and can opt-in to mobile or email notifications based on their interests.
Publish consistently
- Aim to publish at set intervals (such as weekly) and on certain days (for example, every Tuesday). Your publishing frequency may depend on your video formats.
- Stay flexible enough to respond to search trends or timely topics. For instance, you can supplement your regular programming if there’s breaking news.
- Try spacing out videos (instead of publishing several at once). You can upload videos and then schedule the date, time and time zone for their publication.
Communicate your schedule
- Let your viewers know when you plan to release new videos. You can let them know in your videos, video descriptions, channel trailer and About section, for example.
Tips
- Schedule the video publishing time to make a private video go public.
- Consider when your target audience is most likely to be available.
See it in action
WONG FU PRODUCTIONS HOST A WEEKLY LUNCH BREAKWong Fu Productions stay active with short films, sketches and vlogs. "Lunch Break!" is a weekly talk show with episodes that usually run for 10–15 minutes.
Find other ways to stay active on your channel
If you don’t have time to produce new videos constantly, you can still interact with your fans in other ways. When reading comments, consider joining in the conversation so that people know you’re listening. Also, think about how you can get more content out of your shoots.
Interact with comments
- Try posting comments on your own videos, as well as replying to comments from others. You can pin your favourite comment to the top of the feed and even reply to comments on the go with the YouTube Studio mobile app.
- Set aside time for your channel activity. If you upload videos weekly, you may decide to schedule a certain day for fan interactions, such as adding hearts to your favourite comments.
- Adjust your Community settings if you want to hold and review new comments before they’re posted. You can select users whose comments will be automatically approved.
Maximise your shoots
- Consider block shooting more than one video during your production days so that you have some queued up for release.
- Try shooting extra footage, then repackaging it later in short-format videos. You can repurpose this content for things like bloopers, behind-the-scenes, recaps, best-of, vlogs and more.
Tips
- Pin a comment to the top to fix what your fans see first.
- Learn more about community management on your channel.
- Try reusing extra footage to stay active during the off-season.
Use sections to help your viewers find more
How you organise your videos can influence audience behaviour. A section allows you to group videos on your channel in a particular way so that viewers can more quickly find content that matches their interests.
You can create sections from videos, a single playlist or a group of playlists. Some creators assemble sections around topics, while others create unique sections for formats such as episodic content.
Consider ordering sections for potential fans and first-time visitors to your channel. Do you have a group of videos that you think are your best work? It may help to put them in a section that you highlight near the top of your channel.
Tips
See it in action
IISUPERWOMANII'S CHANNEL SECTIONSThis channel's sections are organised by type of content. Section names show off the host’s personality and draw viewers into the videos.
Personalise your catalogue with playlists
Another way to group videos is through playlists to provide a lean-back experience for your viewers to easily watch more. A playlist is an ordered list of videos that you create, often with a specific theme, like SORTEDfood's 'Food Gifts'. Your playlists may appear in search results and in suggested videos.
Playlists can help you to introduce your fans to more content that they love, while showcasing your channel’s creativity and personality. You can include videos from your own channel and from other channels you admire.
Great playlists can keep viewers watching for longer. Some creators make playlists around big events. Or they assemble "best-of" playlists so that it’s easy for viewers to find the most popular videos.
Tips
DS2DIO LXD DANCE HIGHLIGHTS PLAYLISTDS2DIO's playlists make it easy for viewers to find the type of dance performance they want to watch.