What happens if I stop uploading videos to YouTube – after 3, 6 and 18 months

What happens if I stop uploading to YouTube?
I’ve stopped uploading for 3, 6, and 18 months on 3 different channels and the results were pretty consistent.

Channel 1 5k subs - 3 months

On my YouTube advice channel (5k subs at time of writing) I stopped uploading for 3 months.
This channel has crazy competition and videos die very quickly, compared to my other channels.
This channel is heavily focused on Home, Suggested and Search.

The first month or so, not much happened, but gradually I saw the views go down from 1800 views p48h to 1200 views after 3 months.

Channel 2 - 40k subs - 6 months

On my DJ channel (40k subs at time of writing) I stopped uploading for 6 months 2 times.
This channel is bigger than the first one, and far less competitive.
This channel is only focused on YouTube Search.

The first time:
After I’ve started uploading nothing happened for 2 months.
Then views started to go down.

I went from 7600 p48h to 6200 views after 6 months.

The second time:
The views went up immediately.
This had to do with a video blowing up that I uploaded 6 months earlier, which totally skews up the findings.
When I would subtract the views for that video, you would see not much difference for the first 2 months, but then views started to go down.

In other words: not-uploading won’t prevent you from blowing up.

Channel 3 - 400 subs - 18 months

My gaming channel is super small (400 subs at the time of writing) and haven’t uploaded in 18 months.
This channel is not as ridiculously competitive as my YouTube advice channel.
This channel wasn’t focused on any traffic source, hence the bad performance.

The views went down after a month or so.

I went from 100 views p48h to 50 views after 18 months.

Type of Content

What happens to your views depends heavily on the type of content you make.

I deliberately choose to make evergreen content, content that is relevant for a longer time.
Because when you stop uploading, your channel continues to get views.
So, I never mention anything that can make a video dated, like news or years.
I only years in titles so I can change them easily if I need to.

If you have a short-relevancy channel, like news, your views will go down like crazy when you stop uploading.
Because your channel solely relies on you releasing videos

Strategies like this I teach you in my coaching program.

Conclusion

YouTube rewards channels that upload regularly.
When you stop uploading to YouTube it will hurt your views on a daily basis.
It depends on the size of your channel, your competition and the type of content how much and how fast.
I never saw views dropping to zero on the whole channel.

It is safe to assume that uploading won’t hurt your channel for at least a month when you make evergreen content.

When you are serious about YouTube and want to take it to the next level, take a look at my video training program: Viral Strategy.
The program takes you step-by-step through the process of getting views, subscribers and going viral.

For new creators I included a module that guides you step-by-step through the process of starting, creating and setting up a YouTube channel.