Yo Marketers: Hack This! (Blogger Q&A with HackingNetflix.com)

In the debut segment of my new interview series I'm hacking marketing practices from HackingNetflix.com, a blog covering Netflix and the DVD-by-mail industry. The site, run by Mike Kaltschnee, examines competition, tech, law, marketing, operations and customer support. It's bolstered by an active community--traffic reaches up to 300,000 page views monthly, with a daily readership of 3,000-7,000 readers.

A self-proclaimed movie fanatic, Mike found the operational aspects of Netflix to be more interesting than the movies they sent him each month. While the name can sound like a sting operation, HackingNetflix will not teach you how to lie, cheat or steal from Netflix. "Cracking is breaking into computers and hacking has gotten a bad rap", notes the blogger who is devoted to learning as much about the company and sharing it with others.

This hacker teaches marketers how to treat bloggers so they champion our message, how blogging lends companies a "human" voice and what corporate America is missing out on by not participating in the blogosphere. Here's the Q&A:

How has Netflix responded to your blog? Once I had a decent readership, I contacted Netflix PR to ask questions and start a dialog. Unfortuntately the PR person at the time didn't really know what to do with me, so she sent me a "good job with the blog" e-mail. I was so frustrated...so I did what any blogger would do: I posted the exchange on my blog. A few days later I got a call from Netflix product management. I was worried they would shut me down--I use their trademark in my domain name!--but they laughed and said that they read the site. They sent me a t-shirt and bobblehead replica of Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. Netflix later hired two new PR professionals that understand bloggers and have been incredibly willing to answer questions--even on weekends!

How have Netflix's competitors responded to your blog? I tried several times to reach Blockbuster, and finally had one exchange with the PR people, but subsequent e-mails went unanswered. I do believe that someone at Blockbuster leaked to me the launch of Blockbuster Online and a free, one-month trial offer...but I can't be sure.

Other than a creative outlet, what other points of value has your blog produced? One of the main reasons I began blogging was to start a blogging software company, but I found that I really enjoyed writing and being part of the community instead. In a few years I've become an expert on the DVD rental industry and have been quoted in dozens of magazines and newspapers--I even wound up on CNBC! I don't post stories about me, there are plenty of "ego blogs" out there. I didn't put advertising on the site until we found out that my youngest daughter has several life-threatening allergies and decided that my wife needed to stay home. The site has helped replace her salary, but I'm not getting rich.

What % of your content is driven by readers? I've posted more than 1,600 stories and I would  guess that about 50% of them came from e-mails and comments, but it varies weekly (note: readers have posted more than 20,000 comments to date).

What's more important--building a bigger audience or maintaining your active community? I get a lot of input from my readers and I would rather have a small core of loyal readers than 60,000 visitors in one day that only read one story and never return. It's very rewarding to get e-mail from people that have been reading the site for a year or two.

How about corporate blogs--helpful or self-serving? Bloggers like Robert Scoble (formerly of Microsoft) and Jason Calacanis (work done for AOL) have helped put human faces on companies that desperately need a new image. It's easy to tell when a committee or hired writer is blogging for a company--and it's a shame that the company is missing out on the benefits of having an open, honest conversation with their customers.

End Note: Mike also runs a second blog about another interesting company, Trader Joe's, called "Tracking Trader Joe's", also the #2 search rank in Google. It should not go without saying that Mike juggles this active community along with a full-time job (nope, not at Netflix) and two small children. I think this is what amazes me most of all. And yep, he has his priorities in order--Mike made me wait until after Father's Day for the interview.

Comments? Post 'em! Ideas for an upcoming segment? Send 'em on!  Want to be pinged when new interviews are released? e-mail me. Access all interview segments here. For info. on this series: go here.

hacking netflix blogger interviews blog marketing Christina Kerley CK Mike Kaltschnee Social Media