I shadow banned one of my channels…
After 1M views, because of 1 STUPID mistake 👇
On April 16, I uploaded a video.
Within 3 days, views on my other videos dropped by 65%.
Not because of bad CTR.
Not because of low AVD.
There was no obvious reason.
But here’s what I learned:
When a video is BLOWING UP…
❌ Sometimes the best move is: DON’T upload.
Yeah, I know.
“Be consistent.”
“Upload weekly.”
BLA BLA
But uploading too soon can kill momentum.
Here’s an example:
• Video A = about pets
• Video B = about dogs
• Video C = about golden retrievers
If Video B is blowing up (dogs)…
You probably DON’T want to publish Video C (golden retrievers).
But if Video C is blowing up, it’s usually fine to publish Video B.
Because golden retriever lovers ALSO love dogs.
But dog lovers might NOT care about golden retrievers.
Same thing happened to me.
My broad video was booming…
Then I narrowed the niche on the next video
→ 📉 30–90% fewer views on the channel.
Why?
1) Lower Session Time
These aren’t “official” from YouTube, but my research & channel data strongly point to this.
People expect more of the same → get something different → leave.
YouTube punishes the video… and the channel.
2) Lower Channel Relevance Score
YouTube seems to build a “topic identity” for your channel.
Like a LOOKALIKE AUDIENCE in paid ads.
But the moment you upload something off-topic?
The “YouTube Pixel” gets weaker.
So the real question is:
How do you know when NOT to upload?
(While still experimenting freely)
💬 Reply “SHADOW” to the email you receive when you get my Free Thumbnail Pack.
And I’ll send you 3 simple methods to avoid cannibalizing your views.
