There’s a good chance you’re not uploading videos every day—most YouTubers upload about one video a week (which means if you upload twice a week, you already have an edge! :) But what also separates the successful creators from the rest is what they do when they’re not uploading. There’s a lot you can do in your downtime to grow and engage your audience.

COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT!

For many YouTubers, only 10% of daily viewers are subscribers. So there’s a big opportunity to capture the 90% who haven’t hit that subscribe button. Fans like engagement—and replying to their comments is one of the easiest ways to engage.

YouTube’s Community section shows you to all the comments that fans have posted on your videos, and you can now reply to them directly from the page. The simple act of replying to your fans can make them switch from a viewer to a subscriber.



If your new videos receive many comments, you probably don’t want to reply to all of them at once. Spread out your replies throughout the week to drive traffic back to your video once views have started to tail off.

CREATE PLAYLISTS

Playlists are one of YouTube’s most powerful, underused features: they not only organize your videos but can also really boost search visibility. So when you’re not promoting your latest video, take some time to sort through your videos and organize them into playlists. Your viewers will appreciate it too!

TWEET, TWEET!

It’s great to push your videos out to social media right when you publish them—but don’t stop there! A single tweet or status update will never reach your full audience, so space out your social media posts throughout the week to reach as many fans as you can.

Many top creators post three uniquely crafted updates over the course of the day. But be sure to to change the text of the updates to avoid repetition! Here’s an example.

Immediately after uploading a few video:



Later in the day:



The following day:



If fans are sharing your video, use that to your advantage! Don’t be afraid to retweet the posts that your fans are sharing. That adds another push to your content and another way to engage your fans.

PLAN AHEAD

It’s never too early to plan out new videos. If you leave videos to the last minute, you may end up feeling rushed and could miss your upload schedule. Even when you’re not actively planning a new video, be on the lookout for ideas to talk about, especially current trends that are happening throughout the world.

Once you have a video in the works and are sure it’ll go live on time, start to get your audience excited about it! Post hints and teasers on yours social media accounts, and make sure to include the date and time that the video will go live.

Now go put that downtime to good use!