Found out the hard way that scheduling posts at peak hours actually hurts your reach

I run a small DIY channel on YouTube, just plumbing tips and home repair stuff. For months I was posting at 7pm on weekdays because every guide says that's prime time. Views were flat, comments were sparse. Then about 6 weeks ago I had a job run late in Omaha and accidentally published at 10:45pm on a Tuesday. That video hit 4 times my normal views within 48 hours. Turns out my audience - mostly tradespeople - watches at night after their own jobs wrap up. Now I check my actual analytics for when my subs are online and post an hour before that. Has anyone else found that the "best time" advice is garbage for your specific niche?

2 comments

2 Comments

willow1142d ago

Wait, you're telling me I didn't have to wake up at 4am to post my cat memes for maximum engagement? My cats are going to be so disappointed in me.

grant_allen852d ago

@willow114 is onto something though. I bet your cat people are night owls too, scrolling at 2am when they can't sleep. The whole "post at 7pm" thing is just copy-pasted from some generic study about fast food or something. The real trick is looking at your own channel's audience tab and seeing which timezone they're actually in. My subs are mostly in Central time but they're awake at 11pm, not 7.