#22: I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday (part 2)

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Today we conclude our discussion on app pricing that began in the last episode. We discuss charging for app updates, and try to learn from the experience of companies like Realmac Software (maker of Clear) and The Omni Group (maker of OmniFocus) who have tried to charge customers for their iOS 7 updates. Then we turn our attention to price stability in the App Store, advertising sale prices for your app, and optimizing your app price through experimentation. Finally, we consider charging desktop prices for iPad apps, testing our assumptions, and the importance of building an app business, instead of just building an app.

Show Notes & Links

  • Some Changes for Clear – Realmac Software reverses course on charging customers for the iOS 7 update to their app Clear
  • Omni’s Plans for iOS 7 – The Omni Group announces (in September, 2013) that their iOS 7 updates will be released as new products that must be paid for again
  • Michael Jurewitz’s (aka “Jury”) series on app pricing and the economics of the App Store (parts 1 2 3 4 5)
  • Optimizing the Price of Your App – Charles’ post on using algebra to quickly approximate the optimum price of your app
  • In the podcast (at mark 17:55), Charles misspoke when he talked about solving a system of quadratic equations. Clearly, he meant solving a system of equations in three variables to find a quadratic equation. Charles apologizes to all the algebra teachers and math geeks in the audience who were confused by his misstatement.
  • Sustainability and the Mac App Store – Realmac Software acknowledges that sale pricing has hurt full-price sales of their app Ember, and announce a “No More Discounts” policy
  • In-App Purchase – The Future is Here – Kevin Hoctor’s explanation of the pricing model that will be used for MoneyWell for iPad
  • Yep, paid apps are dead – Jeremy Olson of Tapity urges us to “stop making apps and start making businesses”

Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by CocoaConf and their Fall tour of conferences for iOS and Mac developers. CocoaConf’s fall tour is a big one, and there are still dates coming up in Boston, MA (Oct 25-26); and Atlanta, GA (Nov 15-16). Register now for any of these events and use the discount code ReleaseNotes to receive 20% off the cost of your ticket.