I hinted about it last week. It’s time for the unveiling. A contest. A contest with a prize. A prize I myself wouldn’t mind winning, to be honest. Fifty dollars to use as you choose at any Barnes and Noble.

Many of you know about my monthly ezine, Glimpses. In each issue, I feature people who are incarnating Christ (i.e. living out Christ) in their story and in their art. I also have a devotional about incarnating Christ as the Church. (And a monthly giveaway.) I’d love to get subscriptions up. You see, I have some awesome (yes, awesome) interviews and artwork coming up the next several months–interviews with people from ALARM (African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries), from Artslink, from Come Let’s Dance, and from Art from the Streets, and artwork including poetry and paintings and flash fiction.

I want people to read and see this stuff because it’s cool (yes, cool) stuff.

So here’s the contest. Starting right this second and ending Monday, May 26, at midnight, the person who refers the most new subscribers to Glimpses will receive a crisp $50 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

For those of you who want to know more, see past issues, or read what others are saying before committing yourself, you can go here. (Note the handy-dandy new supercategory up at the top.)

Suggestions for getting the word out:

1. Email your friends, family, dentist. I’ll even make it easy for you. You can say something like this:

"I’m a subscriber to a monthly ezine called Glimpses. Glimpses is run by Heather A. Goodman. It has stories of Christians living for Christ, artwork reflecting Christ, and devotionals about being the Church. Not only are subscriptions free, but when you sign up, you get a free copy of Reel Studies: A Study Tool for Bible Stories. Reel Studies is a simple tool that helps with understanding the stories of the Bible. Each month, we get a chance to win a free giveaway. In the past, there’s been music, books, audio books, artwork, and coffee cuffs.

If you want to know more about the ezine, you can read about it here.

Right now, I’m participating in a contest with Glimpses. If you sign-up and list me as the referring friend, you can help me win a gift certificate for Barnes and Noble. You can sign up on Heather’s website–www.heatheragoodman.com–and you’ll get the free study tool that day.

Thanks for helping me out."

2. Put it on your blog. You can use the wording above, plus I’ll give you the code to put the sign-up form right on your blog to make it easy. Here’s the code to copy and paste:

<style>
#SignUp .signupframe {border: 1px solid #000000; background: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;}
</style>
<script src="http://app.icontact.com/icp/loadsignup.php/form.js?c=194258&amp;l=6221&amp;f=1847" type="text/javascript">
</script>

3. Word of mouth. Literally. Telling people the old fashioned way–cell phones, text-messaging (note the irony), or even when you’re having coffee with a friend.

4. Rent a billboard.

Make sure that no matter which method you choose, your friend/family/dentist lists you as the referring friend so that you can get credit.

If you’re not currently a Glimpses subscriber, you can become one at any time during the contest and still participate.

Thanks for helping me get the word out about Glimpses! Good luck!

Fine print: The winner must refer at least 5 new subscribers in order to receive the gift certificate.