2 YouTube Mistakes That Destroyed My Channel Growth (Don't Make Them)
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Quick Answer
Two mistakes hurt my YouTube channel more than anything else: deleting successful videos and taking a long break from uploading. Deleting my videos caused my views to drop dramatically, while taking a 12-day break reduced my click-through rate, impressions, and overall channel performance. In this article, I'll explain what happened and what I learned from those mistakes.
Key Takeaways
Never delete videos that have already helped your channel grow.
If you don't like an old video, unlist it instead of deleting it.
Deleting videos can remove valuable viewing history that helps YouTube recommend your content.
Small channels should avoid taking long breaks from uploading.
Consistency helps maintain impressions, click-through rate, and recommendations.
Learn from your mistakes instead of repeating them.
The Biggest Mistake I Made on My YouTube Channel
I've made several mistakes on my YouTube journey, but two of them affected my channel more than anything else.
I want to share them because I don't want other creators to experience the same thing.
If I had known these lessons earlier, I honestly believe my channel would be much further ahead today.
Mistake #1: Deleting My Videos
Back in December 2024, I decided to delete several videos from my YouTube channel.
At the time, I thought I was cleaning up my content.
Instead, I ended up hurting my channel.
What made it even worse was that I didn't immediately realize the connection between deleting those videos and the sudden drop in my views.
I blamed everything else.
I thought YouTube had stopped recommending my content.
I even wondered whether YouTube simply wasn't for me.
Later, I realized the real problem was the videos I had removed.
What Happened After I Deleted Them?
When I looked at my channel's history, the change was obvious.
Before deleting the videos, my channel was growing steadily.
One month alone generated around 300,000 views.
Then I deleted videos that had accumulated roughly 357,000 views.
After that, my channel performance dropped significantly.
Instead of maintaining strong growth, my views fell dramatically.
It took months before the channel started recovering again.
Why Deleting Videos Can Hurt Your Channel
Every time someone watches one of your videos, YouTube learns something about that viewer.
It uses that information to understand who is interested in your content.
Over time, YouTube builds a history of the people most likely to enjoy your videos.
When you delete successful videos, you remove content that has already helped YouTube understand your audience.
As a result, YouTube has fewer signals to work with when recommending your future uploads.
Whether or not this is the only reason a channel loses momentum, deleting large amounts of successful content can make it much harder for your channel to maintain its previous performance.
What You Should Do Instead
If you no longer want people to watch an old video, don't rush to delete it.
Instead, make it Unlisted.
An unlisted video won't appear publicly on your channel, but it remains available if someone has the direct link.
This approach allows you to hide content without immediately removing it from your channel.
There are situations where deleting a video is necessary—for example, if it contains copyrighted material or violates YouTube's policies.
Outside of those situations, I personally avoid deleting videos unless there's a very good reason.
Mistake #2: Taking a Long Break
The second mistake I made was disappearing from YouTube for several days.
Because of school and other responsibilities, I stopped uploading for around 12 days.
That may not sound like a long time, but I noticed a difference almost immediately.
What Changed?
Before the break, many of my videos achieved:
Higher click-through rates
More impressions
Better recommendations
After returning, those numbers dropped noticeably.
My click-through rate fell.
My impressions decreased.
My videos weren't being recommended as widely as before.
The overall performance of the channel slowed down.
Why Consistency Matters
Consistency doesn't necessarily mean uploading every day.
It means showing up regularly.
For small YouTube channels, consistency helps keep your audience engaged and gives YouTube more opportunities to recommend your content.
Every channel is different.
Some large creators can upload once a month and still perform well because they've already built a loyal audience.
For smaller channels, however, long breaks can make it more difficult to maintain momentum.
What I Learned
Since then, I've tried to avoid taking long breaks whenever possible.
Life happens, and sometimes you genuinely need time away.
But if you're building a small channel, try to maintain a realistic upload schedule that you can actually follow.
Even one quality video every week is often better than disappearing for weeks at a time.
My Advice to New Creators
If you're just starting on YouTube, these are the two lessons I'd encourage you to remember:
First, don't delete successful videos unless it's absolutely necessary.
If you simply don't want them visible anymore, consider making them unlisted instead.
Second, stay as consistent as your schedule allows.
You don't have to upload every day, but avoid disappearing for long periods without a plan.
Small improvements repeated consistently often produce much better results than occasional bursts of activity.
Final Thoughts
Every YouTube creator makes mistakes.
The important thing is learning from them.
Deleting my videos and taking a long break both taught me valuable lessons about how consistency and content history can influence channel growth.
You can watch this video on my channel for further understanding👇
