I recently compared the traffic for Offbeat Home & Life with Offbeat Families, and was amazed to see that Offbeat Home & Life has not only caught up to Offbeat Families — but surpassed its traffic pretty significantly with over double the visits.
And you know what’s responsible for most of those visits? FUCKING BASIL. A throw-away post that combined a snapshot a basil plant taken by one of one of our editors, combined with some common sense, and a few quotes from comments left on another one of our blog posts. Somehow, this post has gone beyond viral on Pinterest, and is now responsible for almost 15% of the site’s traffic:
FUCKING BASIL, you guys!
As a publisher, I feel like sometimes I have a sixth sense for which posts are going to be popular. I know, for instance, that if I link a post about cultural appropriation on Facebook, it will garner a huge wave of traffic and a flurry of comments — even if I link the post at 4pm on a Friday, and the post itself is two years old. I feel like I know my readers, what they care about, and what they want to discuss…
…unless it’s basil. Then I’m completely blindsided.