You know the feeling. You’ve been working hard on your latest video, and you’re ready to publish it. But which day should you post? And what time of day is best for posting videos?
The best time to publish YouTube videos with TubeBuddy is Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2-4 PM. The prepares your video for the prime engagement period between 5 PM to 9 PM. This is the period when most internet users are active online in the United States.
These high-engagement times come from a study conducted by MisFitHustler.
Start by uploading videos at these recommended times. Then use Tubebuddy to figure out the best time to upload videos for your specific channel. If you don’t already have it, go ahead and grab TubeBudy now for the best results. TubeBuddy will help you find out when your audience is most engaged so that you can get more views, more comments, and more subscribers.
We’re going to go through exactly how you can figure out the perfect time to post for your specific channel—whatever topics you cover.
When Should I Post My YouTube Videos?
That’s all well and good, but when do you post videos on your channel?
You should post your YouTube Videos with Tubebuddy 1-2 hours before the peak of your audience engagement. Tubebuddy shows you the exact peak times of engagement inside of their tool.
Let’s use TubeBuddy to find out your best time to post. There is an process to getting this data, so let’s dig into it.
First, upload a batch of videos over a couple of weeks. The more the better. Publish your videos on different days and at different times. This feeds TubeBuddy data to analyze. Without this data, TubeBuddy won’t be able to tell you the best time to publish your YouTube videos.
So, don’t skip this step.
Once you publish those videos, follow the step-by-step tutorial below to study your analytics. I’m going to show you exactly how to use TubeBuddy to find out the best time to post your videos.
Here’s how to find the best time to post videos using TubeBuddy:
- Go to your YouTube Channel
- Click on the TubeBuddy Menu (Should be approximately in the top right corner of your YouTube channel screen)
- Scroll down to “Best Time To Publish”
- Click on “Best Time to Publish”
- Scroll down until you see a multicolored table (see video)
Look below the multicolored table for TubeBuddy’s recommended best time to publish YouTube videos on your channel.
Here’s a short 4-minute video that will walk you through the process. It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Why Don’t I See The Multicolored Table or Recommended Time?
Sometimes you don’t see the multicolored table or recommended best time to publish YouTube videos in your TubeBuddy analytics dashboard.
Why don’t you see the multicolored table or recommended time?
You will not see the multicolored table or recommended time in the TubeBuddy analytics dashboard if there is not enough viewer data from YouTube. You need at least 100 views per day. Otherwise, there is not enough engagement with your videos for TubeBuddy to recommend the best time.
Don’t fret! There is an easy solution. You simply need to post more videos until the TubeBuddy analytics kick in. Again, you need 100 views a day, so the more videos you post, the easier and faster you will get good channel data. Be sure to use the keyword search tool in TubeBuddy to choose great topics and titles for these videos.
Until you get your channel data, check out the following research on the best days and times to post videos on YouTube.
What Is the Best Day To Post on YouTube? (Based on Research)
The best day to post videos on YouTube with TubeBuddy is Sunday.
You can also post on any other day of the week, including over the weekends. Here is a chart based on studies by Federater, Boosted, and Influencer Marketing Hub. The chart breaks down the best times to post YouTube videos on specific days:
| Day of the Week | Best Time to Publish YouTube Videos with TubeBuddy |
|---|---|
| Monday | 2-4 PM EST |
| Tuesday | 2-4 PM EST |
| Wednesday | 2-4 PM and 5-9 PM EST |
| Thursday | 12 PM-3 PM EST |
| Friday | 12 PM-3 PM and 5-9 PM EST |
| Saturday | 9-11 AM and 5-9 PM EST |
| Sunday | 8-11 AM and 5-9 PM (EST) |
You may also see good results posting videos during the weekdays before 8 am EST to reach the most people across time zones in the United States.
Is There Really a Best Time To Post YouTube Videos?
Yes. You can use TubeBuddy to find your best day of the week and time of the day to post YouTube videos that will get more views, more comments, and more subscribers.
Here is a reddit post reply from TubeBuddy themselves on how they calculate the best times:
We considered creating a “rolling average” where we analyze all the 2 hours blocks (1pm -> 3pm) (2pm -> 4pm) (3pm -> 5pm) etc and pick the best block of time which is similar to what you’re suggesting. That way you can find the best 2 hour block of engagement. But if we did it that way, what time block do we pick? 2 hours? 3 hours? 4 hours? 6 hours? Everyone seems to say that it’s incredibly important to get immediate views/comments/likes which is why we chose the single maximum hour and not a rolling average so that the first hour is the best hour possible.
—Tubebuddy Reddit Post
As you can see, Tubebuddy focuses on maximum engagement, so follow their guidance unless you have better data telling you otherwise.
Why Should I Post YouTube Videos During Peak Engagement?
You should upload YouTube videos during peak engagement to reach the most people. You’ll get more likes, comments, shares, etc. YouTube will display your video to people who don’t subscribe to your channel or those browsing during off-peak hours.
Timing really matters to YouTube success.
Follow the best practice guidelines in this article, study your analytics, and then adjust your upload day and time based on your audience response. That’s the way I have slowly grown my YouTube channel to 1,000 subscribers.
Should You Post a YouTube Video an Hour Before Maximum Engagement?
There is actually a very good reason to test out the practice of uploading your YouTube video 1-2 hours before peak engagement times. Why? Because YouTube doesn’t always automatically index your video the moment you upload them.
It can take a few hours (or longer if your channel is brand new) for YouTube to show your video in search. Therefore, when you upload your video a few hours before maximum engagement periods, you give YouTube time to index your video.
Here are the simple steps:
- Figure out your peak engagement period (either through TubeBuddy or follow the general guideline of 5 PM).
- Upload your video 2 hours before your peak engagement period (general guidelines suggest 2-4 pm).
I suggest that you try this out on your channel and look at the analytics using TubeBuddy. You should clearly see which videos get the most engagement on which days and at what times.
Is It Good To Post YouTube Videos on Weekends? (Solved)
Weekends are a great option for posting videos. However, remember that people might no be at work or school during those times so they’re likely sleeping in (especially on Saturday). The best weekend days to post YouTube videos are Friday and Saturday between 5 PM-9M. On Sunday, you can also post in the morning between 8-11 am.
In fact, the best times of the year to post YouTube videos appear to be Thursday through Sunday in September and October.
If you want to batch release content, do it in these two months for the greatest potential viewership. Of course, it’s good to release videos all year long, but knowing the data trends can help you plan your long-term content strategy.
Does the Best Time To Post on YouTube Change?
The best time to post YouTube videos changes. The best day of the week and time of day can change by month, season, specific channel, and because of external factors such as national or global events.
The Coronovirus of 2020 is a perfect example.
Due to traveling restrictions, business closures, and work-from-home policies, an influx of people were suddenly at home for most of the day. Gaming trends skyrocketed. So did searches for DIY information and videos. You can’t usually predict these outside factors, but it’s good to be aware of the variables that can affect your channel.
The best proactive response is to figure out the best time to post YouTube videos on your channel by using TubeBuddy.
When Do Popular YouTubers Post Their Videos? (Specific Advice Given)
Bigger channels can pretty much post anytime they want. YouTube indexes their videos almost instantly, and they have thousands or millions of subscribers waiting for them to release a video.
Many popular YouTubers across many different niches follow the advice of the YouTube Creator’s Academy by uploading at least one video per week.
When exactly do popular YouTubers post videos?
- YouTubers who upload once per day, week or month usually upload in the early afternoon between 2-4 PM.
- Channels that upload twice per day tend to post once in the early morning and once in the late afternoon/early evening. This allows them to spread their views and engagement throughout the day instead of their videos competing with each other.
YouTube channels that grow the fastest post videos 1-2 hours before their peak engagement time based on TubeBuddy analytics. Get a 30-day free trial of TubeBuddy to see how it works for you.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading! As a YouTuber myself, I know how challenging it can be to figure out posting times, much less recording and editing videos. There’s definitely a learning curve to it.
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