Is there a “magic hour” to upload? We unpack the research on posting times, the consistency-first counter-argument, and a practical way to find your best window. You’ll learn how to read the When your viewers are on YouTube heat map, why posting just before peaks helps, and why content quality, thumbnails, SEO, and retention outweigh perfect timing—especially for new channels.

What You’ll Learn

• What studies and gurus say about best times vs. why many pros say consistency wins
• How to use YouTube Studio → Audience heat map to pick a posting window
• Why posting just before audience peaks can help initial distribution
• The role of evergreen shelf life (timing ≠ destiny)
• Retention targets for shorts vs. long-form, and where timing fits in the bigger picture

Chapters

• 00:00– Setup
• 00:37– Research & time windows
• 02:28– Counterpoint
• 03:13– Proof stories
• 03:31– Shelf life
• 04:09– Find your window
• 04:46– No data yet?
• 05:06– Timing is the cherry on top
• 05:36– Retention signals

Key Takeaways

• There are popular windows, but consistency and content beat the clock.
• Use your own audience data to pick a slot; post just before peaks.
• Evergreen shelf life means great videos can win long after upload day.
• Retention + CTR are stronger growth levers than minute-perfect timing.
• Start simple, measure, then optimize—timing is the finishing touch, not the foundation.

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• YouTube Studio → Analytics → Audience (heat map)

Sponsor

Brought to you by Pop by Tuulie—psychology-driven thumbnails and title testing. Create with Pixel, improve with Re-pop, model styles with Inspo Pop, then test in Pop Ground to see what actually pops. Start your free trial at tuulie.com/pop.

This episode turns post-upload busywork into a repeatable growth checklist. You’ll learn how small optimizations—keyworded filenames, description tops, manual chapters, smart titles/thumbnails, and internal linking—send stronger signals to YouTube and create a better viewer journey. Stack these 1% improvements consistently and they compound into meaningful reach and watch-time gains.

What You’ll Learn

• Why tiny, consistent optimizations can compound into big results
• Before upload: how to name your video & thumbnail files for relevance
• Tags vs. descriptions: where to spend time today
• Titles & thumbnails: short, emotional titles; baseline first, then A/B
• Manual chapters: turn long videos into multiple search entry points
• Internal linking: playlists, end screens, cards, pinned comments (+ unlisted trick)

Chapters

• 00:00– What this checklist does
• 00:42– Compounding effect
• 01:06– Overlooked steps
• 01:24– File naming
• 02:02– Tags today
• 02:29– Descriptions matter
• 03:12– Go long
• 03:48– Titles & thumbnails
• 04:12– Testing cadence
• 04:27– Manual chapters
• 05:12– Keep viewers
• 05:16– Internal links (4 spots)
• 05:56– Unlisted trick
• 06:21– It’s for viewers, too
• 06:54– Choose one item

Key Takeaways

• YouTube reads filenames, descriptions, chapters—use them to clarify intent.
• Short, strong titles + clear thumbnails win the first impression.
• Manual chapters create multiple search doorways (and help viewers).
• Internal linking engineers a binge path on your channel.
• Stack small wins consistently—they compound.

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• YouTube Studio (defaults, chapters, A/B testing capabilities)

Sponsor

Brought to you by Pop by Tuulie—psychology-driven thumbnails and title testing. Create with Pixel, improve with Re-pop, model styles with Inspo Pop, then test in Pop Ground to see what actually pops. Start your free trial at tuulie.com/pop.

Stop guessing. In this deep dive, we show free, fast ways to uncover what your audience types into YouTube: Auto-suggest, the Alphabet method, a wildcard underscore trick, and the Two-More-Clicks method. Then we turn those findings into keyword-first titles, description tops that convert, spoken keywords YouTube can transcribe, and chapters that rank—plus a long-tail strategy built for smaller channels.

What You’ll Learn

• Free keyword discovery with YouTube itself (auto-suggest, alphabet, wildcard)
• The Two-More-Clicks method to mine related queries from results pages
• How to think like a beginner and target long-tail questions
• Tools to check volume/competition/trends (vidIQ, TubeBuddy, Keywords Everywhere)
• Where to place keywords: title, first two description lines, spoken words, chapters
• Why tags are minimal now (use for misspellings/homonyms)

Chapters

• 00:00– Why keyword research matters
• 00:27– Where to start
• 00:43– YouTube Auto-Suggest
• 01:06– Alphabet Method
• 01:25– Wildcard Underscore
• 01:37– Two-More-Clicks
• 01:57– Read the page
• 02:49– Think like a beginner
• 03:12– Long-tail wins
• 03:35– Low-volume strategy
• 04:07– Tools
• 04:50– Deploying keywords
• 05:23– Inside the video
• 05:52– Chapters
• 05:57– Tags today

Key Takeaways

• YouTube itself is your best free keyword tool.
• Long-tail > broad for smaller channels—win specific searches first.
• Place keywords where they matter: title, description top, voice, chapters.
• Tags are optional helpers, not a growth lever.
• Create with the beginner’s language, not expert jargon.

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• YouTube Auto-Suggest (search bar), Related/People also watched
• vidIQ, TubeBuddy (volume/competition ideas)
• Keywords Everywhere (volume, trendlines, top-video age/averages)

Sponsor

Brought to you by Pop by Tuulie—psychology-driven thumbnails and title testing. Create with Pixel, improve with Re-pop, model styles with Inspo Pop, then test in Pop Ground to see what actually pops. Start your free trial at tuulie.com/pop.