thebschool

[thebschool]

For over 7 years it's been my absolute pleasure to share The [ b ] School with the photo community and it's with mixed emotions that I must report that we are shutting the doors for good. As I mentioned early last year, its time to evolve.

It's hard to let go since I've poured so much of my time, effort, money, passion and love into something, but it's time for me to move on to new opportunities and focus my attention elsewhere.

I'll always be a champion for our founding principal of "photographers helping photographers" and I am an advocate of continuing education within the industry. The second you think you've got it all figured out... BAM... that's when you get lapped by the new generation! Trust me on that one!

I wish I could personally thank each and every one of you for supporting us over the years... it's been a wild ride.

I'll never forget filming the original videos with the Bui Brothers.

I am so grateful to the 300 Private School members who signed up on the very first day!

I'll never forget the near heart attack I had when the site went down a noon on our public launch day... stuff like that keeps ya humble.

I'll never forget how slow the first version of the site was (again... keeps you humble).

I'm so grateful to Jon & Patrick from Omatik.com who came in to save the day and built [ b ] School 2.0. They did an amazing job and we had a thriving community for a good couple of years.

I loved hosting Study Hall so much... thanks for spending part of your Thursdays with me for so long.

I'll never forget the fun parties during WPPI, and the local get-togethers whenever I traveled shooting destination weddings.

I think the thing that makes me happiest is that I was able to connect so many photographers from around the world. I still get a lot of joy when I see people hanging out at WPPI, or even in other online communities that first met through [ b ] School.

I also love hearing success stories of people who actually paid attention to the info I shared and put it into practice. It's awesome seeing how successful they have become!

But enough about the past... I am excited for the future! We were actually in the process of building [ b ] School 3, when we realized that the direction was just too different so we decided to rebrand as PhotogRefers.com

It's coming next month (maybe sooner) and it's going to be huge! ALL professional photographers will be able to join for FREE and share referrals and second shooting opportunities with one another. Of course their will be an option to upgrade to a premium account which brings extra exposure and benefits... and you're probably going to want to... but you can decide for yourself when you see the new site. Just hang tight... it's almost time!

NOTE: If you were a Private School member in [ b ] School... we are going to honor your lifetime account over at PhotogRefers. You'll simply have to enroll for a free account, then email me directly requesting your upgrade.

Same goes for anyone who had an active yearly subscription in [ b ] School as of January 7, 2014. Even if you only have a few days left on your subscription, we'll be giving you the first year of your PhotogRefers premium membership on the house. Same deal... Sign up for a free account, then email us requesting an upgrade. (No refunds will be given if you accidentally pay for an upgrade... we'll just assume you wanted to donate to our cause!)

Monthly [ b ] School members will have to start fresh. We stopped billing last November and there are currently not any active monthly members, so you'll have to sign up at PhotogRefers.com, and then you can upgrade if you want to. If not, no worries... enjoy the free benefits of the site and tell your friends about it.

Lastly, I just want to say thanks again for your time, your support, your attention, your money and your feedback. I love being a part of this community and I wish y'all a prosperous 2014 and beyond!!

Much love,

Professor Becker

PS. We'll still be using our social profiles on Twitter & Facebook to promote PhotogRefers and to share other relevant industry related news & events.

[thebschool]

Irresistible Words

Come to think of it… one of the things that convinced me to pursue photography way back when I was in high school, was that I found out that if I signed up for the school newspaper... it counted as English credit! 

And all I had to do what take pictures & write captions! Suckers! ;-)

Writing was my mortal enemy even back then. I scored in the 99th percentile in math on my PSATs... Rainman smart when it comes to numbers ;-) but I only got a 33% in writing.

Me no likey wurds!

And to be honest, even though I’ve written thousands of blog posts over the years, and sent tens of thousands of emails, I’ve never felt comfortable with my writing abilities. 

Lately, I’ve just been posting images in my blog posts with very little backstory. All my posts started sounding the same… my clients are awesome, the bride is beautiful… kiss the wedding planners ass… etc... etc... BARF!

  My website has been "a work in progress" for almost a year now, not because I don’t know what photos I want to show, but because the thought of rewriting my bio is extremely painful, even though I know it’s necessary.

It got so bad, that I even tried to hire a copywriter to do it for me. She charges $2,500 and to be honest, I thought that was a fair price AND I AGREED TO PAY IT! As luck would have it, she had a long waiting list and can't help me until next Spring. 

Since then, I heard about "Irresistible Words" through social media and decided to check it out. For like 10% of what I would have paid a copywriter, I could actually follow along with this downloadable course and learn some valuable writing skills that will certainly help me now, and in the future.

The course was the first thing I put on my new iPad mini with retina display and I immediately dove right in!

It's broken up into 4 weeks, and there are examples and exercises to help you along the way. I finished the whole thing in less than 2 weeks and while I'm still no Aaron Sorkin, I already feel so much better about my writing abilities. I no longer dread it, and I'm actually looking forward to finishing my new website, with shiny new text and all!

If you hated writing as much as I did... you owe it to yourself to check out Irresistible Words. You can thank me later!

(Heads up... they're having a Black Friday sale and you can save some serious cash if you pick it up this weekend).

Happy Thanksgiving!

[thebschool]

The [ b ] School turns 5 today!

Wow... it's really hard to imagine that The [ b ] School opened to the public 5 years ago today! What a ride it has been!

We actually came up with the idea of the [ b ] School in late 2006 and it took almost 2 full years of hard work, a ton of money paid to our designers and programmers, and a lot of love & dedication from our entire team to bring it to life.

Those who were there in the beginning remember the first site was super clunky & slow, and it made for a... well let's just say... a frustrating online experience.

We reinvested just about every penny we made into building The [ b ] School 2.0 (the current version) which launched in February of 2011. The new site was 100x better and much faster than the original version, but it still never really took off like we were hoping.

But even though [ b ] School never became a huge success or reached the levels of engagement I had hoped for, I am so very proud of the work we did and for the connections we facilitated. It makes me so happy when I see photographers interacting on Facebook, Twitter or even in real life, that I know first met via [ b ] School.

From the very beginning of my photographic career... a full decade before starting to work on [ b ] School... I have always been about photographers connecting and collaborating with one another instead of competing against each other. Our new venture is going to take that idea to the next level!

We've been working on the concept for "[ b ] School 3" since early 2012, and as you now know, we are rebranding that concept as PhotogRefers... which will be launching very soon (next month fingers crossed)!

PhotogRefers is a dedicated referral network that will allow anyone to get a FREE listing in our photographers directory... so there's absolutely no reason not to join. All members will also have access to our Peer to Peer Referral Network and our Second Shooters Connection. It's really going to be amazing!

Anywho... I just want to thank the thousands of photographers who were a member of The [ b ] School at one time or another. Without you guys... I'd just be talking to myself. I also want to thank the 300 original Private School members who believed in what we were doing and supported us from the very beginning. 

To all my photographer friends who made videos and provided content for The [ b ] School, I'll be forever grateful.

Also, I could not have done any of it without the help and support of my team! Keats, Paul, Gary, Jon, Patrick, Tim, Erik, Lan, Vu... I have no words to adequately express my thanks to your dedication to helping photographers connect and grow.

The [ b ] School website will remain online until the end of the year, then it'll be time to say goodbye and concentrate on the future.

If you are a current [ b ] School member, please head to the forum for important information about transferring your account to PhotogRefers.com

[thebschool]

7 days of awesome, no cost strategies to book more weddings. (Sponsored)

How would you like to learn cutting edge marketing strategies and get expert advice at NO COST to you? My friends Stephanie and Jeff over at Book More Brides have created a free event just for wedding photographers called the “6 Figure Wedding Photographer Summit,” and they’re doing something that…well, frankly I think they’re a little crazy for doing this… It’s 7 days of totally free video presentations ALL about how to get more leads and book more weddings. (August 12th-18th) The last time they held a Summit like this, they had over 3,000 wedding pros tune in to these expert presentations.  Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity to soak up these free tips and strategies! Just enter your name and email at the link below and they’ll send you the details.  Register Here The lineup is so cool that I HIGHLY recommend you attend this ground-breaking wedding photography event.  In this series of totally FREE video trainings, here’s just some of what you’ll learn…

The 3 Rules of Viral Marketing that get brides sharing your photos everywhere.

How one wedding pro used a fruitcake and a Twitter post to get featured on Good Morning America, the Huffington Post and ABC news.

“Do I get my images on DVD?”  Learn how smart photographers answer this question to make more money.

5 reasons why brides leave wedding photographer websites in 5 seconds.

What one photographer does to book 95% of meetings and had one groom say, “Even if you doubled your price, we’d still book you!”

Frustrated with brides who don’t respond? Learn the results of the “Secret Shopper Experiment” on the follow up of wedding photographers and the fatal mistakes that lose leads.

The secret to getting couples who “don’t have the budget” to find the money to hire you without ever meeting them in person.

The 4 step Top Secret SEO Formula you can use to get even a brand new website to Page 1 of Google, earning highly targeted, valuable website visitors the easy way.

And lots  more!

Click here link below to take advantage of this totally free event! Here’s to your success! Becker P.S.  Here’s what a few of last year’s over 3,000 Summit attendees had to say... “I can't BELIEVE that you shared this for free!...this might be the best series of webinars for somebody in my industry on the market right now. ” ~ Mike Kaiser, A+ Nightlife Entertainment “These have been the best marketing videos I have ever seen. I have started implementing some of the things already!” - Gail, nightingailphotography “There is so much AWESOME information in the summit...my only regret is that I don’t have straight time during the week to work on implementing everything NOW!  The thing is that I can’t believe it is free.” ~Mindy, Ever After Visuals

[thebschool]

Joe Photo on thinking big.

I am incredibly blessed to have had a few people in my life who have impressed the fact that WE limit ourselves by OUR thinking. There are many photographers living a far better life than the vast majority of the rest of the world. What an amazing gift it has been to move from my small minded thinking to the challenge of “let’s just see how impossibly big this can get!”

[thebschool]

RIP Martin Robison.

Martin Robison, son of our longtime [ b ] School support guru Paul Edward, succumbed to the injuries he sustained while helping a woman in need and passed away this morning.

Last Wednesday, as Martin was walking his 7 year old daughter to school, he witness one of his neighbors being attacked by her husband with a knife. She was stabbed 17 times before Martin heroically intervened. Unfortunately, Martin was stabbed 7 times including once in the brain. He was rushed to the hospital and has been fighting for his life ever since. He lost that fight this morning and we are heartbroken.

He leaves behind a wife and daughter who could desperately use our help in the form of financial contributions. If you can spare anything at all, it would really help and be very much appreciated.

If you would like to donate to help Martin and his family, head to the PayPal website to donate. Click on the "Transfer money to friends" link and add in this e-mail address: helpformartin@gmail.com or you can visit this link if you don't have PayPal.

His dad Paul called him a "gentle soul". Martin was truly a hero and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

[thebschool]

Wedding Mind Tricks Review

Get your copy of Wedding Mind Tricks here. Use "bschool" at checkout to save $10.

[thebschool]

WPPI 2013

I'd love to connect with as many [ b ] Schoolers as possible this year at WPPI. I'll be happy to answer any questions about PhotogRefers.

Here's my public schedule:

Sunday:

I'll be walking around Launch Pad from about 3-5pm

Monday:

12-3pm - Walking the trade show floor

1-2pm - I'll be at the Album Exposure booth hanging out and answering questions. I'll also have a few [ b ] School T-shirt to give out.

7-10pm - Madera Party

Tuesday:

6pm- Happy Hour at Diego (I'll be in the bar eating tacos) <-- I'd love to have a bunch of [ b ] Schoolers show up to this.

8-10pm- Photo Ignite

Wednesday

11am- MGM poker tourney

I'll be walking the tradeshow again when I bust out

6-9pm Awards banquet

Other than that, you may find me in the poker room late at night.

Lastly, it still happens every year... after WPPI is over, people email me telling me they saw me, but they were too shy to say hello. Please feel free to come up and introduce yourself. I'm super nice. Really!

[thebschool]

The [ b ] School is evolving!

Dear Friends, When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, one of the original board members reminded him that "Great companies reinvent themselves when they need to". Well is it's good enough for Apple, it's good enough for [ b ] School! But first, a bit of history: When we started working on The [ b ] School back in 2006, we wanted a place where photographers could connect online and help each other grow their businesses. We also wanted to provide a safe place to ask questions, share ideas, encourage one another and continue learning, as we believe a true professional never stops growing. When we first launched [ b ] School in the fall of 2008, after almost 2 full years of development, we, like a lot of you, were disappointed in the speed of the site (or more precisely… the lack there of speed). We had lots of bugs, we had issues with the developers, and the site pretty much sucked. It was a total bummer because we put so much time, effort, love and $$$ into it. Seriously… I could have bought a Ferrari for what we paid for that site. :-( However… even though the site itself sucked… I was very pleased by the helpful and friendly vibe that took hold within the community. The giving spirit of our members, the willingness to help out other photographers, the eagerness to grow & learn and the over all positive attitude kept us going. We were happy to reinvest just about every penny we made into rebuilding the site from the ground up (with a new developer of course)! In February of 2011, we opened the doors to [ b ] School 2.0 and proudly showed off our new home on the web. People were raving about how much better the site itself was, and I am proud to say that we still have the same helpful and friendly vibe going amongst our amazing members. It's been awesome to witness all of the sharing, the learning and the growth by our members. I am constantly impressed by the quality of images shared in our gallery and the information shared in our forums and clubs. But guess what… we know we can make it even better, and create a site that is more useful and valuable to photographers… and we are going to do just that with "[ b ] School 3"! Notice that "[ b ] School 3" is in quotes. It's because we are mixing it up a bit and rebranding! We actually taking the site in a new direction and we felt a new name was in order. Whhaaaaaatt???? We know that not everyone is going to be happy with the change, but I realized in high school that I couldn't please everyone so I stopped trying. I believe the changes we are making are better for our community, and the industry as a whole. Here are a few reasons we are getting away from the [ b ] School brand: #1 Well technically, we aren't a school. I mean, it's been my goal to connect, educate and inspire as much as I possibly can, and I feel I've shared every secret about the biz that I can think of… but it's not a school in the sense of how most people think of learning and classes and online education (Creative Live, After Dark Education, etc…). My favorite part of school was recess, and for me it was all about socializing and connecting instead of actually learning. In that respect, I am proud of the work we did during the almost 6 years of [ b ] School. #2 - It's not about me. Look, I know some folks think I am a crazy egomaniac, so full of himself, cocky, whatever. I always try to assure new people that I meet that I am not nearly pretentious as I pretend to be ;-) The folks who truly know me deep down, know that I am a pretty laid back guy who just loves life and feel blessed to be doing what he loves for a living. I also love helping others... It's the whole "teach a man to fish thing". And while I do believe in branding and the [ b ] logo will live on in my photography business… this idea for our new community is way bigger than any one person… I don't need it to be, or even want it to be, about me. I want it to be all about the talented photographers who share and help and inspire. #3. We are professionals. I do believe that it's important to never stop learning. Ever. Seriously. But our new site is going to focus on getting your work in front of potential clients, who will hopefully book you. We can't be referring to you as "students" even though we all are right? We want to assure the prospective clients that this new site is full of dedicated professional who are passionate about photography. I can't tell you how many people have dropped out of [ b ] School over the years for the simple reason that they didn't like think of themselves as students. Let me tell you folks... The moment you stop learning you may as well retire. But their point was well taken and we won't be referring to you as students in front of prospective clients. But don't fret… Thebschool.com isn't going away… there are way too many valuable conversation, tons of videos and plenty of connection that will live on for the time being. Private School members will continue to have lifetime access to the new site. Any yearly subscriptions still active at the time our new site launches, will be automatically transferred to the new site, and a fresh year will be started at no additional charge. (Although your original [ b ] School subscription will end when it is scheduled to). Even though we are changing directions, we are still committed to help photographers, connect, learn and grow as professionals. "[ b ] School 3" is being reincarnated as PhotogRefers.com…

A Social Referral Network for professional wedding & portrait photographers.

We're building a new kind of photographic directory unlike anything we've seen on the web. We believe we have a better way to get your work in front of people looking to hire you. We're also building tools to help you get & share referrals with your peers as well. Our #1 goal is to help you get your work seen by people looking to hire a professional photographer. While we will have a bias towards wedding photography, portrait & event photographers will be also be welcomed.

Our #2 goal is to help you connect with other professionals and share referrals when you are booked, or unable to do a job. We're going to continue right were we left off at the [ b ] School, with a commitment to helping photographers connect with one another.

Our #3 goal is to help you find the best products, services & educational opportunities that this industry has to offer. We've been at this a long time, and we've made partnerships with other companies that are also dedicated to helping photographers. We'll have a lot more to tell you about our plan in the weeks to come, but for now, head on over to PhotogRefers.com and reserve your username. Mine is going to be PhotogRefers.com/thebecker, so think of something else! Also, once you sign up, you'll be given a custom link, just for you to share with your photo friends on your various social networks. The more people you share it with, the sooner you'll be invited into the new site. Be sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and pay close attention to our blog, as more details will be revealed in the coming weeks. Seriously friends… I can't tell you how excited I am about this new venture and I hope you'll get in on the ground floor of this new community. As always…  our commitment to helping photographers has not, and will not, ever stop! Warmly, Christopher Becker

PS. If you have any questions about this at all, please email me at becker@thebschool.com

PPS. I'll be at WPPI in Las Vegas from Sunday through Thursday next week, feel free to ask me about PhotogRefers.com

PPPS. Seriously... go right now and reserve your username then share your link with your friends!

[thebschool]

Our long time customer support guru Paul Robison (aka Paul Edward) is moving on to dedicate all of him time to his coaching clients. While I am sure he will be missed here at The [ b ] School, I'm certain the photographers he mentors will appreciate the extra time and attention that he gives to them. Paul shot his first wedding in 1973... the year I was born, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he can give to any photographer starting out who wants to make a living in this business. Check out Robison Coaching for more info.

If you have any [ b ] School support issues, use the support tab at the bottom of any [ b ] School page as normal, but please just be patient as we work to replace him.

[thebschool]

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY by MARCUS BELL  – FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP WITH CREATIVE LIVE

This Wednesday - Friday, February 6, 7 & 8th.

Learn wedding photography the Marcus Bell way! Learn how to prepare for the wedding, shoot emotional documentary images, and create the 'weddingscapes' that Marcus's clients love. Marcus will also teach what makes a good photograph and post-production techniques to create award-winning images and pictures that sell!  Sharing his favourite tools in Photoshop and Lightroom, plus his express workflow techniques.

ENROLL NOW!

[thebschool]

Happy Groundhogs Day Friends! I hope that dang rodent doesn't see his shadow because I'm ready for flip flop weather!

It's hard to believe that [ b ] School 2.0 launched two years ago today and later this year we'll be celebrating the 5 year anniversary of our original launch. Even crazier to think that Keats and I have been working on [ b ] School since 2006. It's been a helluva ride and I gotta say, I truly believe the best is yet to come!

My team and I are working on "[ b ] School 3" and we're hoping to launch early this summer. For those of you who've been around since the beginning, you know that 2.0 was 100x better than the original site and I'm confident that this new site, will be even better than our current home on the web.

Some of the key benefits for you will be:

Faster.

Simplified Navigation.

Responsive Design so you can stay connected on any device.

More emphasis on getting referrals.

Tools to help you actually make more money, save more money, book more jobs and get more experience.

Get your work seen by a broader audience.

Of course we've got a lot more, be we don't want to ruin the surprise just yet.

Right now, we've got a special offer in honor of 2 years of [ b ] School 2. If you sign up for a 1 year subscription anytime this month... we'll automatically extend your subscription or an entire year of "[ b ] School 3".

That means, if you sign up in February, and we launch our new site in June, we'll extend your membership 'til June of 2014. If we don't launch until July, you won't have to pay again until next July. If we don't launch until August... well if we don't launch until August... I may kill our programmers, but we'll still extend your subscription until 08/14.

Also, if you sign up RIGHT NOW... we'll let you in for only $100 per year! That's 50% off the current price and it's the last time we'll be offering yearly memberships for this price. Just use BSCHOOL3 at CHECKOUT.

If you are already a current member on a monthly plan, you can also take advantage of this offer by contacting support@thebschool.com with the subject line UPGRADE (Just let Paul know the best time to get a hold of you).

Lastly... we've always believed that the more people that participate in [ b ] School, the more valuable it becomes. If you like being a part of our tribe, please share this link on FB & Twitter and encourage your photo friends to join this helpful community.

[thebschool]

A quick video from Zach & Jody about brand consistency online. Be sure to sign up for their Tuesday Trick's email list.

[thebschool]

Congrats to Raven Mathis for winning a $500 Apple gift card in our 12 Days of Christmas campaign, and thank you to all of the wonderful companies who donated prizes and/or offered special discounts to [ b ] Schoolers.

In case you missed out on some of the deals, these companies are offering discounts beyond the 12 days and you can get them any time:

Pexagon (25% off of custom USB drives). Use code: PHOTOFLASH9

Sticky Albums ($40 off viral marketing via mobile albums). Use code: bschool

Wedding Mind Tricks ($10 off eBook on how to turn your website into a booking machine). Use code: bschool

Post House (25% off of post production services through Feb 2013). Use code BSCHOOL12DAYS.

You've also got a couple more days to join The [ b ] School for 50% off using the code 12DAYS at checkout. (Expires 12/31/12 at 11:59pm PST)

[thebschool]

On the 12th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... my time and freedom back with some production help from Post House.

Let's face it, outsourcing  post production in the past has been complicated, expensive, and a little frightening. We get it. We've been there. And we'd like to help. Post House works to make every step of post processing simple and easy. From the simple ordering system and free two-way shipping, to easy-to-budget flat rate pricing, you'll be amazed how easy it can be to get this part of the process off your plate. But just so it's clear, Post House is not here to just "make your life easier". We want to play a role in helping you grow your business by delivering images to your clients sooner.

And the good news is... this is the gift that keeps on giving all the way through to the new year. Use BSCHOOL12DAYS to save 25% on any job you send them before the end of February 2013.

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We're giving back a little something in way of a contest where one lucky winner will win a $500 Apple gift card, so please help us promote our 12 days campaign. There are several ways to enter, and you can enter as often as you want. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Christmas Eve (TONIGHT!), and the winner will be announced right here on the blog on the 26th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lastly, if you aren't a [ b ] School member, you can save 50% on your subscription by using the code 12DAYS when you sign up. If you sign up for a year, you'll also receive a free [ b ] School T-Shirt. Be sure to check back tomorrow for another great offer and another chance to win.

[thebschool]

On the 11th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me a whole bunch of BOOKINGS, and SnapKnot will help you with exactly that! One of my favorite weddings from 2012 came froma  SnapKnot referral and they've turned into some awesome clients who are referring me all the time. I love this deal because with just one booking over the course of the year you will have made back your money several times over. This is a 48-HOUR DEAL ONLY, so make sure you don't miss out and start your 2013 right with more bookings! Just use the code BSCHOOL12DAYS and save a whopping 66% when you sign up for an annual Diamond plan.* *Current annual Diamond SnapKnot members are not eligible.

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We're giving back a little something in way of a contest where one lucky winner will win a $500 Apple gift card, so please help us promote our 12 days campaign. There are several ways to enter, and you can enter as often as you want. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Christmas Eve, and the winner will be announced right here on the blog on the 26th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lastly, if you aren't a [ b ] School member, you can save 50% on your subscription by using the code 12DAYS when you sign up. If you sign up for a year, you'll also receive a free [ b ] School T-Shirt. Be sure to check back tomorrow for another great offer and another chance to win.

[thebschool]

On the 10th Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... a buy one, get one free option on the all new Pass from Show It. Pass is a simpler, smarter way to share your photos with you clients. Click the photo above to watch a 75 second video that explains it all, then click here to take advantage of the buy one event, get another one for free offer.

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We're giving back a little something in way of a contest where one lucky winner will win a $500 Apple gift card, so please help us promote our 12 days campaign. There are several ways to enter, and you can enter as often as you want. The contest ends at 11:59pm on Christmas Eve, and the winner will be announced right here on the blog on the 26th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lastly, if you aren't a [ b ] School member, you can save 50% on your subscription by using the code 12DAYS when you sign up. If you sign up for a year, you'll also receive a free [ b ] School T-Shirt. Be sure to check back tomorrow for another great offer and another chance to win.