Just from the first sample (<a href="http://diveintoios.com/samples" rel="nofollow">http://diveintoios.com/samples</a>), it seems a bit heavy, listing many things that aren't necessary to get started. Customers can get that detail from a reference book/website (e.g. you could supply it as a supplementary pdf).<p>I think for a video, people would like the experience of being guided through by someone knowledgeable. They don't want a book; and they don't want a dry lecture. They want a substitute for an expert friend at their elbow. You don't need to impress with exhaustive detail - a beginner can't absorb it anyway.<p>So, for example, just say "⌘B to build and run it", instead of the several commands you go through. And not list all those methods for UIViewController. Instead, start with what <i>is</i> a UIViewController, in terms of the user-experience. i.e. why would you want one? Then, once the listener is motivated, introduce how to use it with an example.<p>I'm reminded of Steve Jobs, always thinking of the user's point of view (not the complete technical details); and using huge fonts with a small amount of text on slides.<p>But... honestly... maybe some people want <i>exactly</i> what you are doing. (if your younger self would have benefited from it, that's strong evidence that someone else would too.) Including the accent, your youth, audio quality etc. For each person that X is a negative, there can be another for whom it's a positive. Target those people who value what you value. You don't need to please all the people - just <i>really</i> please a small number, and that's enough for a one-man venture. Once you have a foothold, you can broaden your scope.<p>(Of course, if you strongly agree with some of the suggestions here, then they are now your values - and you should adopt them!)
This might seem a bit rude, especially because it takes a lot of work to launch something like this, but I'll try to give really honest feedback. So please don't take this as an attack on the project, but rather an unfiltered 'brain dump':<p>I personally wouldn't be compelled to buy it mainly because:<p>- I hear a "non-native" accent. I'm not a native english speaker myself, but for some reason this makes it very hard for me to listen over a longer period of time. I have the same problem with podcasts. This might be something very particular to my tastes though.<p>- The trainer sounds too young. I love to have people teach me things that have "been around". Somebody that knows Smalltalk/Lisp/... might be able to explain to me WHY things are done in a certain way as opposed to HOW they are done. Looking a bit at the linkedin profile behind the site creator (<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sidwyn-koh/26/4/495" rel="nofollow">http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sidwyn-koh/26/4/495</a>), I'll have to say that it doesn't really change my impression.<p>- The audio quality of the samples isn't that great. It's either audio compression artefacts or a bad microphone. Especially at that price, I'd like something as basic as the audio quality to be good.<p>- The website logo looks like MS Paint art
This seems a little spendy for video tutorials (peepcode is a good benchmark). Have you considered breaking them up into smaller bits and selling the same $50 content for 5 blocks @ $10 apiece?<p>This would also obviate some of the risk for the buyer? I.e. if they buy the first one and hate it, they aren't out $50.<p>(btw, don't get me wrong- $50 is CHEAP if you guys do a good job-- I'm wearing my marketeer hat with this comment)
I'm not interested in iOS development, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think it should provide a brief introduction for free to allow people to evaluate it. Also, I assume it's possible to upgrade packages by paying the difference?
not to say this is the case here, but i'm always cautious with things like this where the main selling points are the credentials of the instructor (see 'about' section)...if the guy is such a badass app developer why is he trying to make money as an instructor? shouldn't he be getting rich building...well, apps?
So, congrats on launching this, but I have to say, it's going to be very challenging for you to compete against lynda.com at this price point. They have a terrific iOS instructor and a broad library of professionally-produced videos on this, and their cost is $25/month.<p>There's plenty of room to compete (and I wouldn't suggest that you attempt to compete on price, since video-only learning becomes commoditized quickly), but if you're going to be competitive you will have to convey some sort of value other than "learn how to code in iOS with our video!!1!"
Hi guys, launched a service to kickstart iOS development and beat the learning curve. We provide short and succinct tutorials to get you started. Would love to hear your feedback/comments. Thanks!<p>P.S. Use 'hackernews' upon checkout for a 10% discount :)
A few suggestions:<p>- Kill the power point like slides in the videos, they are not very useful. Such information is better represented as text, so it can be searched and easily referenced.<p>- Lower the price for the video's they are way too high. I imagine 99% of this information can be easily found on google with a simple search.<p>- The videos look unprofessional to me, seems like they need an editing pass.<p>You may get more traction if you release the basic package for free. This allows users to evaluate the videos and buy more when they want the intermediate and advanced courses. At the current price I wasn't even enticed to look at the sample video after seeing the $50 price point for a basic package. Good luck.
Move a sample video to the landing page or put a big "view first video for free" button on the page. You want a persons eyes to be drawn to 3 things: logo/call to action, packages, and the sample.
Just bought the Complete Package, 99.70€ with the discount. I know Java, Scala, C, C++, Python, HTML5/CSS3 (Haml/Sass), Javascript/jQuery, C# and Unity3D but have never coded with Objective-C, let's see if I can really beat the learning curve with your videos!
The problem I have with most iOS material is that it's either too simple, or too advanced, often leaving no room for those that understand the concepts but need help connecting the dots between the easy and the advanced.<p>Provided the OP actually knows what he's doing, and there's no reason to doubt that, I'm glad to see him doing this, as I believe that the more material on the market the better. I like learning from different teachers, even if they cover the same thing. That said, this was a bit pricey for my tastes, but that's only because I've spent so much prior to today.
I don't like the idea of attempting to build on the "Dive Into" brand without offering the materials online for free, as Mark Pilgrim has (or did, before he removed it all). It feels opportunistic.
Ha. The last time you could make a full $49 by putting something in the app store was the time these guys lost their contract with a western company.<p>Listen... you hear that? That's the Titanic creaking.