Collaborative Divorce Texas is pleased to welcome 2 new advertisers to the CDT website, Austin Divorce Planners and Angela Deaton with Deaton Divorce Lending and Prime Lending. Austin Divorce Planners is led by Keith Powell. Keith is a Collaborative Financial Professional with an office in Austin. Keith says that he is willing to travel to Dallas, Houston or San Antonio to work on Collaborative Divorce cases as the FP in a case. Angela Deaton is a certified divorce … [Read more...]
I Made A Difference Campaign 2019
The “I Made a Difference” campaign was a huge success this year at the annual Collaborative Law Conference. This campaign asks members of Collaborative Divorce Texas to donate 1 billable hour to CDT to enable us to continue our public education efforts. Over 90 members and attendees have participated thus far and raised over $30,000.00. The 90+ contributors represented over 50% of those who were in attendance at the conference who donated approximately 1 billable hour to CDT: a … [Read more...]
New Regional Advertising Options on CDT Website
There are some new and improved options available for advertising on the Collaborative Divorce Texas website. Over the past 12 months there have been over 56,000 visits to the website from potential collaborative divorce clients and the CDT social media campaign was seen by over 1.8 million people. The CDT board, after listening to feedback, has decided to broaden the advertising option by adding the ability to purchase advertising regionally, to include the CDT Social Media (e.g., … [Read more...]
Free Spring Conference Luncheon for CDT Members
The CDT Spring Conference is scheduled for March 7-8, 2019 in Dallas. CDT will sponsor a FREE luncheon Thursday, March 7, 2019 from 12-1:30 p.m. for all members of CDT who wish to attend. Rick Soat will present a Treasurer’s Report, Honey Sheff will outline the State of CDT Union, and each committee chair will summarize their respective activities for the year. We will end the luncheon with a question and answer session with the entire Board of Trustees. Be sure to rsvp … [Read more...]
It Works!
It works, and not just in divorces. Recently, my family had the extraordinarily grueling challenge of helping our parents come to the realization that they could no longer live on their own. While in rehab following my father’s brain surgery, he admitted to my sisters and me he could no longer care for our mother. And while our mother thought she was fully capable of caring for herself and him, the reality was much different. Any time my sister or I even mentioned our parents leaving their … [Read more...]
CDT Launches Statewide Education Campaign
In late July, Collaborative Divorce Texas launched a statewide education campaign to help educate more people throughout the state about the collaborative divorce option. Prior to launching the statewide campaign, CDT had focused its efforts in the 5 major markets (DFW, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Lubbock/Amarillo) on a monthly rotating basis. The new campaign now reaches those markets and others throughout the state every month. After the first seven weeks of the campaign, there has … [Read more...]
Meet New Board Member Kevin Pinkley
Name: Kevin Pinkley Date and Place of Birth: 1968; Portsmouth, VA Family: Daughter (High School Senior) Son (High School Sophomore) and my wonderful wife Elizabeth (DPT) Education: Sam Houston State University BA Firm Name: Wealth Management Group Member of Collaborative Divorce Texas since: 2009 I started practicing Collaboratively because: Someone finally said yes and thanks by the way. What I like best about this job: I get to help provide solutions. My hobbies are: Enjoying … [Read more...]
Advertising Off to A Great Start on CDT Website
Ads on the Collaborative Divorce Texas website were seen nearly 85,000 times during the month of February. 8 different businesses have taken advantage of the opportunity to advertise to visitors to the website. The opportunity to advertise was approved by the CDT board of directors in November and the first sponsor ads went live at the beginning of the February. There is tremendous potential to reach a very targeted audience of visitors to the website that are interested in getting … [Read more...]
Ads Launch on CDT Website
Advertising space sales on the Collaborative Divorce Texas website have begun. The ads of the first four businesses are now running on the website. This is an excellent opportunity to get your name in front of a growing audience on the website. Last year, there were 50,000 visits to the CDT website and 2018 is off to a great start with a 24.2% increase in site visits versus the same time last year. Your advertising dollars will help Collaborative Divorce Texas continue and expand its public … [Read more...]
Attention Members of the 2017 Collaborative Divorce Texas Master and Credentialed Class
It’s time to renew your credentialed status. It is hard to believe a year has passed since we notified certain members they had been selected for the inaugural 2017 class of master and credentialed professionals by CDT. We hope that being credentialed has allowed you to distinguish yourself in the community. The annual renewal fee is $100 for a master credentialed member and $50.00 for a credentialed member. Make your check payable to Collaborative Divorce Texas and include your check with … [Read more...]
Key Note Speaker for 2018 State Bar Collaborative Law Conference
Responding to participant feedback from previous years’ conferences, the Planning Committee for the upcoming annual Collaborative Law Conference is excited to announce a special key note speaker – Peter Robinson, Professor and Managing Director of the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at Pepperdine University. Professor Robinson will educate this year’s course participants on the topic of advanced negotiation skills. In addition to managing the renowned program at Pepperdine and teaching … [Read more...]
Collaborative Divorce Houston Launches New Greater Houston Area Presence
The launch of Collaborative Divorce Houston’s website was enthusiastically received by all at CDH’s Annual Member Meeting hosted by Jack H. Emmott, outgoing President on November 28th. Much thanks and praise for the work of the Website Committee, Craig Haston, Norma Trusch and Jennifer Broussard. Members, prospective members and the public who are interested can view the site at: www.collaborativedivorcehouston.com The Greater Houston area practice group has 37 members and has been working … [Read more...]
Top 50 Most Read Blogs in 2017
Want to Grow Your Collaborative Practice? Writing blogs about Collaborative Divorce helps to grow your collaborative practice and grow public awareness of collaborative as the better choice in divorce. Blogs written by Collaborative Divorce Texas members have played a key role in growing CDT web traffic and more clients coming in for an Initial Consultation and asking for their case to be handled collaboratively. Below you will find a list of the top 100 most read blogs in 2017. It is … [Read more...]
Meet Board Member – Richard (Rick) D. Soat
Name: Richard (Rick) D. Soat Date and Place of Birth: May 12, 1962, San Antonio, Texas Family: agree is important. Wife: Ruth, sons: Cason, Darin, Jalen, daughter: Richelle, granddaughter: Addisyn Belle Education: University of Texas at Austin (BBA) University of Texas at San Antonio (MBA) Firm Name: BDO USA, LLP Member of Collaborative Divorce Texas since: 2009 (as part of CLI-TX) I started practicing Collaboratively because: The concept makes real sense What I like best about this … [Read more...]
Collaborative Divorce Texas Members Impact IACP!
The 18th Annual International Academy of Collaborative Professionals Forum was held October 12 through 15 in Philadelphia. IACP furthers the development of collaborative practice around the world. CDT’s presence was felt throughout the forum, most notably with our own Chris Farish as the incoming president of IACP. (Chris outlined his hopes for the upcoming year for IACP in the September Newsletter) Many CDT members attended the conference and CDT members Linda Solomon, Camille Milner, David … [Read more...]
Stretching The Collaborative Message
More than 50,000 people visited the Collaborative Divorce Texas website over the past 12 months. Many of those visitors entered the website as a direct result of CDT’s blogging and social media (Facebook) campaigns. To give you an idea of the impact of CDT’s campaigns, the annual website traffic prior to the institution of these campaigns was 15,000 to 20,000 visits to the site. Due to budget limitations, CDT cannot afford a continuous statewide Facebook campaign. CDT’s current Facebook … [Read more...]
Meet Board Member David S. Bouschor II
Name: David S. Bouschor II Date and Place of Birth: 10/10/1957, St. Paul, MN Family: Hominidae Education: Bachelor of Science in Geology from University of Wisconsin Superior Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University (SMU) Firm Name: The Law Office of David S. Bouschor II, P.C. Member of Collaborative Divorce Texas since: March 2016 I started practicing collaboratively because: Stew Webb was coming to town, and he was a Minnesota boy, so I figured I would look into it. What I … [Read more...]
Chris Farish to become New President of IACP
In October, our very own Chris Farish from Quaid Farish in Dallas will take the reins as the new President of the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals (IACP). Chris’s term as President will begin immediately after the annual IACP Forum in Philadelphia October 12-15 concludes. Chris recently talked about his upcoming year heading up the IACP. What does it mean for you to become the new president of IACP? Honestly, it's a tremendous honor. The IACP means a great deal … [Read more...]
Kevin Fuller Presented with Gay S. Cox Award
The Annual Gay G. Cox Collaborative Law Award was presented at the 43rd Advanced Family Law Seminar in San Antonio this year on August 7, 2017. Dallas attorney, mediator and collaborative professional Kevin Fuller was honored with the award which recognizes contributions to the collaborative movement in Texas. Fuller was given the award for his leadership role in Collaborative Divorce Texas and for his commitment to peaceful conflict resolution. Fuller’s annual presentation at the close of … [Read more...]
Blogging Works!
So much so that the CDT board asked to share the top 10 Collaborative Divorce Texas blogs over the past few months. #1 - 10 Signs you may need a Divorce – Harry Munsinger – 730 readers #2 - Five Great Fears of Divorce – Mark Lewis – 536 readers #3 - What comes after telling your spouse? – Jennifer Tull – 400 readers #4 - Can I date during my divorce? Harry Munsinger – 278 readers #5 - 5 Good Reasons Not to Choose Collaborative Divorce – Eric Beal – 235 readers #6 - Is Collaborative … [Read more...]
Overcoming the Fear of Blogging
The word “Blog” strikes fear into the heart of many potential bloggers because they don’t know what a blog is or how write one. Yet, one of the most effective tools for driving website traffic is to blog on a consistent basis. To alleviate some of that fear it is important to know that a blog is simply a short article about a subject that your potential client has questions or an interest in-- questions that many of you probably answer on a daily basis. The second point of how to blog … [Read more...]
Email Marketing: A Great Tool for Getting New Cases
Many of the previous articles in this newsletter have focused on the social media campaign that Collaborative Divorce Texas has been running to build awareness of collaborative divorce. This article will focus on another aspect of driving new business and new cases. Email Marketing is one of the most consistent tools for delivering a ROI on your time and money. This type of marketing is not aimed at potential clients but is instead aimed at referral sources. Email marketing works because your … [Read more...]
Checklist for Leveraging Collaborative Divorce Marketing into Your Practice
Efforts to build the brand of Collaborative Divorce Texas continue to pay dividends as more professionals continue to report that they are having more people come in asking for their case to be handled collaboratively. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you will find a letter from Kim Munsinger reporting on a new case that came to her because of the Collaborative Divorce Texas website and her newly minted status as a credentialed professional. What can you do to make sure that you are taking full … [Read more...]
Marketing 101 #DivorceDifferently
This year's Spring Conference featured a lot of great news about the growth of collaborative in Texas over the past year. It also featured the launch of a new initiative to use #DivorceDifferently in social media posts related to Collaborative Divorce in Texas. But for many people any discussion of using hashtags might as well be in a foreign language. So, what is this hashtag (#) and why should anyone care? Let start with what is a hashtag? A hashtag is the pound or number sign. The use … [Read more...]
Plan Now for Your Free Web Video Production at Spring Conference 2017
Video is a major component for websites and social media. At the 2016 Spring Conference, The Crouch Group produced a series of videos with Collaborative Professionals talking about the benefits of using the Collaborative Divorce process. The videos were then added to the Collaborative Divorce Texas website, to the member’s profile page on the site, on Facebook and were made available for the member to use on their own website. Those videos have been a part of the increase in web traffic and … [Read more...]
How Does this Facebook Campaign Work?
It is not uncommon with a lot of collaborative professionals that we hear, “I am not on Facebook, so I don’t get it.” So how does it work and how do you leverage the statewide Collaborate Divorce Texas Facebook initiative into your practice? Collaborative Divorce Texas (CDT) is running Facebook marketing campaigns in major cities around the state each month. (A list of the upcoming cities is at the end of this article) These campaigns target two demographic segments. The first is 30 to 50 … [Read more...]
Building the Collaborative Divorce Brand… So How Are We Doing?
At Spring Conference in February, we announced that CLI-TX was changing its name to Collaborative Divorce Texas. The plain and simple reason was to speak the language of potential divorce clients who didn’t think that collaborative law was for them because it didn’t say divorce. Since that time, Collaborative Divorce Texas has launched a new website, developed a social media strategy and started spreading the collaborative gospel around the state. So how are we doing? Web site growth has been … [Read more...]
Marketing Report November 2016
1) Web Traffic August Web Traffic increased 103% over 2015 visitors September Web Traffic increased 60% over 2015. 3,414 visitors to the new sites and the old site October Web Traffic increased 65% over 2015 3,732 visitors Web Traffic totals 2nd and 3rd quarter - 22,557 visitors 2) Social Media Campaign September Campaign in San Antonio increased web traffic from San Antonio by 260% vs August traffic October Campaign in Houston increased web traffic from Houston by … [Read more...]
Filled Out Your Profile Yet? You Might Be Missing Out!
Among the many benefits of membership in Collaborative Divorce Texas is your member profile on the Collaborative Divorce Texas Website. Visitors to the site looking to hire a collaborative professional can search by city or county to locate a professional near them. But an important question is: Have you completely filled out your profile.? If you have not, and some members still haven’t, then you may be missing out on leads for collaborative cases in your own backyard. Last month, we … [Read more...]
Help Us Make Collaborative the Preferred Method of Divorce in Texas
You are Essential! Your membership in Collaborative Divorce Texas matters. CDT’s goal is for collaborative divorce to become the preferred method of divorce in Texas. Now there are a lot of folks out there who roll their eyes at this goal. But in his book “Good to Great,” Jim Collins suggests that to become great you have to set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs) to stimulate progress. According to Collins, “A BHAG is a huge and daunting goal.” A goal that is clear and compelling, and … [Read more...]
Building the Divorce Differently Collaborative Brand with Facebook
One of the goals of Collaborative Divorce Texas is to help its members get more collaborative cases. To do this, we are building the brand that you can divorce differently through the collaborative divorce process. The goal is to reach potential new divorce clients and get information in front of them early in the decision making process about collaborative. What can you do as a member of Collaborative Divorce Texas to help spread the word and get more collaborative cases? (After all you … [Read more...]
