Membership Drive and Giveaway

Beginning the first week in April I will be writing shawnblanc.net as my full-time gig.

It is hard to put into words just exactly how excited I am about the days ahead — I’m equal parts giddy and petrified over here. There’s that feeling of: I’m actually going to do this! Um, wait. I’m actually going to do this!?

In order to make this happen for longer than a few months, I need the support of you, the reader.

And so, leading up to my first day on the job, I am hosting a PBS-style membership drive. Which means that, for the next three and a half weeks, I’ll be talking somewhat regularly about the membership. (Though I promise that it won’t be all I talk about between now and then.)

Ideally, you are signing up to become a member because you feel like this site is already worth 3 bucks a month to you. The members-only perks are a nice bonus of course (Shawn Today seems to be a smash hit already), and the fact that your membership will be a significant contributing factor to my ability to go full time is the icing on the cake.

But let’s face it: everyone loves free stuff. And, to be honest, I really do love to give things away. And so there are things to be won if you sign up to become a member.

If you haven’t signed up for a membership yet, here’s the link.

The Membership Drive

Starting yesterday, and running until midnight CST on Sunday, March 20, anyone who signs up to become a member of shawnblanc.net will be entered to win a prize. These are all top-notch prizes from some of my friends and heroes in the creative professional community.

  • A 20×30 print from photographer Jorge Quinteros: The winner gets to pick any print they want. These are my three favorites: 1, 2, and 3. ($50)

  • First & 20 t-shirt: 5 of these fantastic t-shirts. I’ve got one and love it. ($20 each)

  • Evernote Essentials by Brett Kelly: 5 copies of Brett’s definitive guide on Evernote. ($25 each)

  • Fusion Ad Burst: The Fusion Ad network is giving away one Burst Campaign. This prize will only be given to a member with something relevant for the Fusion Ad network. ($500)

  • A signed copy of Being Geek by Michael Lopp ($25).

  • A signed copy of Managing Humans by Michael Lopp ($25).

  • Cameron Moll’s 24×16 Signed Colosseo Poster: This thing is gorgeous. ($100)

  • A Redeye Bundle from Idea Cafe: Includes a plain pocket Moleskine, Action Journal, and Dot Grid Book. ($40)

  • MarsEdit 3: A license of the best blogging software on the planet ($40).

  • Limited Edition, Pre-Production, Proof-of-Concept Coffee Mug From Yours Truly: I have no clue how much these will be selling for once they’re available, but I have an extra pre-production model that I’m giving away.

  • Icon Resource: A video training pack of high-def movies, project files, photoshop samples, and more from the world-class icon designer Sebastiaan de With. ($130)

  • Learning ExpressionEngine 2 by Ryan Irelan: Two bundles of the complete series basic training screencasts for EE 2. ($48 each)

  • MySQL and ExpressionEngine by Ryan Irelan: Two copies of this screencast primed to help you do some customizing of EE 2. ($12 each)

  • Securing ExpressionEngine 2 by Mark Huot: Two copies of this ebook which details the steps you can take to make your installation of ExpressionEngine even more secure. ($10 each)

  • LittleSnapper: 5 licenses of Realmac Software’s popular screenshot library tool. ($25 each)

  • Pixelmator: 2 licenses of this top-notch, image editing application for Mac OS X. ($60 each)

  • Flux: 1 license of The Escapers Web-development software. ($113)

  • Canned: 10 copies of Sky Ballon Studio’s iPhone app for sending pre-built text messages. ($.99 each)

  • Canned Email: 10 copies of Sky Ballon Studio’s iPhone app for sending pre-built email messages. ($.99 each)

  • Attachment Tamer: 5 licenses of Lokiware’s Apple Mail plugin. ($15 each)

  • Flare: 5 copies of the brand-new photo effects editor from the Iconfactory. ($20 each)

  • Due App: 10 copies of this great timer and reminder app for your iPhone and iPad. ($5 each)

  • Clyppan: 5 copies of this clipboard history manager for Mac OS X. ($5 each)

  • TrackTime: 5 copies of the time tracking application especially built for freelancers and creative professionals. ($25 each)

The total value of all these prizes is over $2,028. Thank you to all of you who have donated to make this giveaway possible.

How to Win

  • Anyone who signs up for a membership by midnight CST on Sunday, March 20 will automatically be in the runnings to win something.

  • You do not have to live in the United States to win — international members are most welcome and most eligible.

  • I’ll be setting up a way for you to request a certain prize if there is one in particular that you’d love to get.

  • The drawing will be sometime the last week in March. Winners will be contacted by via their PayPal email address.

If you haven’t yet signed up to become a member, now would be a good time.

Membership Drive and Giveaway