Posts in category: Internet Advertising

This week is US Open week in the world of golf.  For many, the US Open may not be as prestigious as the Masters, or as storied as the British Open, but for me it’s the best event in golf.  Here’s why…

For starters, I’m an American, and the US Open is my national championship.  The event is always held at wonderful golf courses, many of which are among the most difficult and prestigious in the country.  And no golf tournament in the world is as difficult to win as the US Open.  It’s hard to win any major championship, but no other event requires such a thorough examination of a golfer’s game than the US Open.

The United States Golf Association, the governing body in American golf (and the organization that conducts the US Open), prides itself on making par a good score in their preeminent championship.  They grow out the rough, pinch the fairways, shave the greens, and make the course firm and fast.  Mishit shots that would otherwise be OK in other majors often find themselves in horrible positions at the US Open.  When you add the pressure of winning a major championship the pinched-in fairways and rock-hard greens can seem almost impossible to hit.  And if you do hit those greens, you know that putts can easily get away from you if they miss the hole.

And lastly, anyone with a handicap of 1.4 or better can attempt to qualify for the US Open.  Sure, it’s incredibly difficult to make it through the multiple qualifying stages, but it is truly open to anyone who has the game to get in.  No other major championship gives as many elite amateurs and professional mini-tour players the opportunity to qualify as the US Open does.  It is truly an “open” golf championship.

I’ve been fortunate to qualify for a number of USGA national championships during my life.  I’ve never made it to the US Open, but I have made it to the US Junior, the US Amateur, and the US Mid Amateur.  I know firsthand how special the USGA events are, and the US Open is the best of them all.

So if you like golf, tune in this week to see how the best players in the world handle the pressure of trying to win one of the game’s biggest championships.  And just so you know, the picture above was taken by me last month at Olympia Fields Country Club, outside of Chicago.  Jim Furyk won his only US Open there in 2003.

This week is Masters week.  For those of you who play golf, you already know how truly special The Masters is.  For those of you who don’t play golf, if there is one tournament you want to watch on TV during the year, this is the one.

The Masters is widely considered to be the most prestigious of the four major championships in professional golf.  It is the only major to be held at the same venue each year, and the list of champions includes most of the greatest players to have ever played the game.  The history and tradition at The Masters is unlike any other event.  The winner receives the coveted green jacket, which is one of the two most recognized symbols of success in the game (the other being the British Open’s claret jug).

A big part of what makes The Masters so great is the golf course.  Augusta National Golf Club, located in Augusta, Georgia, is truly one of the game’s gems.  The course was originally laid-out by perhaps the greatest golf course architect of all time (Dr. Alister Mackenzie) with heavy input from the club’s founder, who also happened to be the greatest amateur golfer to ever play the game (Bobby Jones). Augusta National has every design element you could possibly want.  Length, water, bunkers, trees, risk-and-reward holes, difficulty, and drama are all present there.  The course rewards bold and aggressive play, which makes for wonderful theater.  And it doesn’t hurt that the conditions are perfect.  Every single blade of grass, every beautiful flower, and every piece of pine straw is groomed to perfection.  What more could you want out of a golf course?

Do yourself a favor and watch The Masters on TV this week.  Even if you’re not a golfer, it’s worth your time.  You will never see a more beautiful setting than you will this weekend.

We’ve all heard the saying before.  “Don’t mix business with family”.  It’s true that family and business don’t always make for the best marriage, but if you can make it work, the results can be great.  DanMatt Media is first and foremost a family business.  My father Marty started the company 20 years ago, and indeed he named the company after myself (you guessed it, I’m the “Dan”) and my brother (right again, he’s the “Matt”).

After my years in professional golf and later digital advertising (working for a couple of other organizations) I came over to DanMatt Media 5 years ago.  My brother was already working here at the time, and has since moved on to other things.  But I know my dad is both happy and proud that both of his sons joined him in the family business.  One day when he decides to hang up the spurs and make golf his full-time job, I’ll be carrying-on the business for the family and hopefully building on the legacy that he created.  That is a great source of pride for both myself and my father.

So how do you make a family business work?  My dad and I are both type-A personalities, and we both like getting our way.  The trick to making it work is mutual respect.  We trust each other and (for the most part) we don’t get in each other’s way.  We share the same goals and the same values.  We always strive to put our clients first and operate our family business with honesty and integrity.  Over the years I’ve found that family-owned businesses offer their clients better customer service and a greater commitment to their clients.  That’s certainly the case with us.

I can never replace my dad, I can only succeed him.  He’s the best businessman I’ve ever met, but I’ve had the benefit of watching and learning from him my whole life.  I have children of my own, and I would love for them to join me in the family business one day.  With a little luck and a lot of hard work, DanMatt Media will continue leading the way in online and offline advertising for many years to come.

And the picture above?  That’s my dad and I, from about 35 years ago, a few months after I was born.

We have a pretty extensive portfolio of services here at DanMatt Media.  Our tagline is, “Online or offline, we’ve got you covered”.  We offer our clients traditional media marketing solutions such as radio, television, and print, but we also offer newer, digital solutions like SEM, SEO, and social media marketing.  In the spirit of that commitment to the digital age we now offer our clients cutting-edge, and very affordable, web design services as well.

These days every business needs an online presence.  It is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.  Anyone can cobble together a website and put it up for the world to see, but what message is that sending to your current and potential clients?  A website is often the first thing that a potential client sees when they’re interested in buying from you, and you only get one chance to make a first impression.  In that case, you’d better make sure that your site tells your audience exactly what you want it to.  You need to make sure that your message is being communicated effectively and efficiently.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to create a great website.  DanMatt Media has created sites for small businesses where the budget was very tight, and for large corporations where the sky was the limit.  Creating a great site is much more about connecting with your audience and generating an emotive experience for users, rather than simply throwing a pile of money at it and hoping it works.  You need an agency that will listen to your goals and dreams, and then find a way to effectively communicate them to your audience.  That’s exactly what our web design team does.

If your site hasn’t been updated in the last few years, or if you’re looking to create something new, give us a call or send us a request through our contact form.  We can create the website you’ve been dreaming of, and save you a lot of money in the process.

Without a doubt, Christmas is my favorite time of the year.

I love the snow in Colorado (but once Christmas is over I wish it would go away), the continuous Christmas music on the radio, the Christmas trees and lights, and of course, the cookies and egg nog.  But more than all of that, I like the lightheartedness and good-will that Christmas seems to bring to everyone (yes, even to me).

My wife and I have a toddler, and this year he is finally starting to get excited for Christmas.  His first two Christmases came and went without any major impact on his life, but this year he’s really beginning to embrace the holiday season.  He wants me to read him Christmas books.  He helped decorate our Christmas tree.  He is looking forward to making a gingerbread house, and he is very excited for Santa to bring him presents.  It’s wonderful to watch Christmas through a child’s eyes.

Christmas means different things to different people.  Of course, not everyone celebrates Christmas, but for those who do I think the underlying theme is one of giving generously (be that presents, tips, or volunteering your time to help someone out) and wishing your family and friends holiday greetings.  I admit, I’m a bit of a softie here.  I can be as grumpy as the next guy, but I really like it when random people stop to wish you a Merry Christmas on the street.  That happens quite often here in Colorado, and you can’t help but smile when it does.

So from everyone at DanMatt Media, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our clients, vendors, partners, and anyone else who is actually reading this blog post.

How many times have you heard, “You get what you pay for”?  Or, “If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is”.  I’ve heard both of these sayings quite often, and in most cases, both are true.

Real value isn’t about buying the cheapest product or service you can find.  Real value is about getting the most for your dollar.  Case in point: there are a TON of people out there advertising SEM and SEO services for pennies on the dollar.  It’s tempting, but are you really getting your money’s worth?

Our least expensive SEO plan offers 200 keywords and 20 pages of unique SEO content.  They go up from there.  We also provide monthly reporting that gives our clients 100% transparency into how their campaign is being run, which keywords we are using, and where they are ranking.  Nothing is ever withheld or removed.  Compare that with some of the ultra-cheap $100 a month plans out there, which offer perhaps 5 keywords, zero pages of unique content, and no reporting whatsoever.  Sure, it’s less expensive than our offering, but what are you getting in return?

In a similar fashion, we often hear from new clients that their previous SEM provider promised a great Adwords campaign for only a few hundred dollars per month.  The only problem is the client’s ad only ran for a few days per month before it ran out of budget.  Of course with no reporting and no transparency this was never communicated to the client, so they were left in the dark.  In the end the SEM agency took most of the advertiser’s money as profit, the client received almost no traffic, and the campaign failed to perform.  The client got in for very little money, but got nothing out of it.

The next time you see someone promising great SEM and SEO results for pennies on the dollar, ask yourself how this person or agency is able to achieve these great results at such a low cost.  Do you really want to trust your marketing budget to a guy who handles your SEM and SEO in his garage at night, after he comes home from his “real” job?  Do you want to trust your SEM and SEO campaigns to an overseas company, whom you cannot meet with in person, and who offers you no reporting or transparency?

You get what you pay for, and when a deal sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  We might not be the cheapest game in town, but when you partner with DanMatt Media for your marketing campaign, you always get the best ROI for your dollar.