I’m a little occupied with the launch of the new 30x500 class. In terms of launching the brand spanky new application process, we-eeeell… let’s just say my mouth wrote some checks my butt couldn’t cash. Still working’ on that.

(Pssst. If you want to attend, you better get on the list now.)

On the upside, this gives me an excellent opportunity to pass the blogging torch to my smart, generous, attractive and eloquent students:

Jarrod Drysdale on premium pricing strategy

Jarrod and another designer happened to both launch design ebooks on the same day, to very different results. Why? You’ll have to read on to find out:

The coincidence that Sacha Greif and I both launched our design eBooks (Step By Step UI Design & Bootstrapping Design, respectively) on the same day presents a unique opportunity for a case study. We employed significantly different pricing; at launch, my book cost $39, and Sacha’s cost $3-6.

The difference in our numbers is astounding. Sacha achieved more than six times as many sales but still earned less money.

What was the difference between the two??

Read the rest of Jarrod’s post to find out. (And if you don’t already read Jason’s blog, where Jarrod’s guest posting, you should consider starting! It’s one of my faves. That’s why he’s in my sidebar!)

Brennan Dunn on his first round of billing

Brennan launched Projector just over a month ago, which means that in the world of 30-day trials, he’s just made his first product dollar:

590 sign ups, 2,584 tasks created, 2,943 comments posted, 10 paying customers, and 37 days later, my first SaaS product is profitable. Okay, so just upwards of $100 is less than my hourly consulting rate, but this is a long-tail game.

Read the whole post over on the Projector blog and learn why we should “cheer for the turtles.” (A great phrase that you’re going to see me use over here on UF!)

Dimitri on why he’s building PhotoCouch

When you attend 30x500, one of the things that you’ll hear, see, experience, and practice over & over again is what Brennan recently called “pain, pain, PAIN!”

Don’t get me wrong, we don’t love pain. In 30x500, you focus on killing pain. And to kill pain, you first have to understand what kind of pain it is. Then you have to show your potential customers that you feel their pain.

Dimitri is doing a fantastic job of this in his first 2 serious blog posts, aimed at his potential customers, which have turned into a kind of manifesto:

When you are ready to go back to business you need to pick-up where you left. You are exhausted of the creative work and you have to switch back to the ‘business’ mode.

Have you been overwhelmed after a shoot when you jump into the business seat? Do you immediately know which business tasks to handle during the time your photos are uploading to your Macbook? Do you know what to do next when waiting for models?

Read Part 1 & Part 2 over on the PhotoCouch blog.

Bonus: Brennan reviews 30x500

What’s the one thing I love to see in a review of my own work? Initial skepticism. (I’m so serious here. Not joking.)

Brennan doesn’t disappoint:

My background is in lead generation and advertising, so I’ve been exposed to my fair share of “money making systems” or products that promise to help get me out of the rat race. Having worked for myself and for others in various roles, I’m not sure how free of worrying about money you can ever be, short of having an anonymous benefactor or winning the lottery. And I don’t pretend I’ll ever be asking, like old lady Grantham from Downton Abbey, “A weekend? What on earth is a weekend?” But I do think there’s an extraordinary amount of freedom in being in complete control of how your bank account is filled.

So I bit the bullet and signed up… And started getting PDFs sent to me. I’ll admit, at first I was a bit turned off by this. After all, what makes Amy’s PDFs any better than that $9.99 ebook promising the same results? As somebody regularly in charge with needing to weigh and assess purchase decisions at work, I started questioning if this was really worth it.

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED? Did the hero get the girl? I mean… err… read the rest of the review to find out.

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