Growth Mode
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APP MONETIZATION · MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP

A senior monetization manager.
Without the full-time hire.

Your app has users. Pricing tests and new offers still leave you unsure what to do next. Work directly with Jordan Blackman on monetization audits, pricing and paywall specs, and decisions about what to test. Your team implements.

Experience built inside real product teams.

Featured in & on stage

Another test.
Still no clear next move.

When pricing, paid value and the customer experience pull in different directions, deciding what to change becomes work of its own.

The offer still needs a decision.

A new price or paywall leaves the bigger questions open: what belongs in the paid experience, how to package it, and what makes buying worthwhile for new and existing users.

The team needs something it can build.

“Improve monetization” leaves your designers and engineers to fill in the blanks. They need the offer, the experience, the tradeoffs and a clear test before the next change takes up their time.

The results need a next step.

A test ends. One metric rises and another falls, or there isn’t enough evidence to call it. The next request is already waiting. Work out what the result supports before committing to the next change.

Growth Mode.
A senior mind on the commercial decisions.

Bring the decision you’re facing to Jordan. Work through the diagnosis, develop the pricing or product spec your team needs, then bring back the results for the next decision. You get the work and the reasoning behind it through one monthly membership, with one active request at a time.

How I think about it. Monetization is part of the product’s design. I look at the experience, the reasons people return and the paid value together. Start with what existing customers value and what could make paying worthwhile for new users, then define a change your team can test.

DIRECT WITH JORDAN

Personal review, product judgment and concrete written work.

YOUR PRIORITIES

Queue the requests you need. Choose the order. One is active at a time.

YOUR TEAM IMPLEMENTS

Your team owns production design, engineering and running the tests.

MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP

$3,995 a month. Pause or cancel anytime. 14-day money-back guarantee.

  • “Audit our paid offer and purchase journey. Which changes deserve attention first?”
  • “Develop the pricing and packaging spec for this offer, with the tradeoffs and test plan.”
  • “Review this experiment. What can we conclude, and what should we do next?”

For app, software and game teams with users and people ready to implement. Jordan develops the diagnosis, concepts, specifications and decision memos. Your team handles production design, engineering and running the tests.

Four kinds of work.
Start with the one you need.

Diagnose, Design, Operate and Prove are a request menu. Bring the question in front of you; we choose the useful work and take one request at a time.

  1. DIAGNOSE

    A ranked list of opportunities.

    Review your paywall or store, pricing, offers and purchase journey. Get the findings, recommended priorities and evidence gaps. Use relevant benchmarks where comparable data is available.

  2. DESIGN

    A spec your team can build from.

    Develop pricing and packaging, a paywall or onboarding flow, a paid-feature offer or a free-versus-paid boundary. Get the structure, supporting copy, rationale and test plan; your team produces and implements the final experience.

  3. OPERATE

    A recommendation from the results.

    Review an experiment, the latest metrics or a proposed spec. Get a decision memo explaining what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain and what to do next.

  4. PROVE

    A model for the next decision.

    Develop revenue and customer-value scenarios, a monetization roadmap or a hiring rubric. Models show their assumptions and the conditions under which a proposed change would make sense.

Focused reviews and decision memos take 2–3 business days once the relevant context is available. Larger audits, specifications, research and models are delivered in stages with agreed dates. Estimates are scenarios with assumptions, not promised lifts. Choose and prioritize the work you need; timing depends on each request’s scope.

Explore the request menu

Diagnose

  • Monetization teardown: paywall or store, pricing, offers and the journey from onboarding to purchase.
  • Benchmark comparisons: relevant conversion, revenue and retention measures, with compatible definitions and available cohorts.
  • Competitor teardowns: pricing, paywalls, offers and promotional patterns to consider.
  • KPI dashboard spec and event taxonomy: what to measure and what your engineers need to capture.
  • Business-model and willingness-to-pay memo: research questions, available customer evidence and options for launch pricing.

Design

  • Pricing and packaging specs: tiers, price points, billing options and introductory or win-back offers.
  • Paywall and onboarding specs: flow, copy, placement and wireframes that explain the intended experience.
  • Offer systems for games and hybrids: segments, triggers, cadence caps and first-purchase offers.
  • Free-versus-paid boundary maps: what belongs in each tier and how people experience the value.
  • LiveOps and promotional plans: events, sales and offers, with assumptions behind the proposed schedule.
  • Ad monetization plans: placements, rewarded-video ideas, frequency caps and mediation requirements for your team to implement.
  • Lifecycle monetization: cancellation, payment-recovery and win-back flows, plus upgrade paths.

Operate

  • Experiment roadmaps: prioritized hypotheses, evidence requirements and sequencing.
  • Test readouts as decision memos: whether to ship, stop, revise or gather more evidence.
  • Metrics reviews: what changed, possible explanations and the next questions to investigate.
  • Spec and PRD feedback before your team commits to implementation.
  • Tooling and platform-policy research for the product decision at hand.

Prove

  • LTV and revenue scenarios: customer value, acquisition payback and proposed changes, with assumptions shown.
  • Monetization roadmaps: priorities and effort estimates tied to your commercial goals.
  • Hiring rubrics: role requirements, interview questions and handover priorities for a future monetization hire.

“His input was super helpful to identify key issues with our core loop, retention and progression mechanics. You really can’t get such input from any other type of game designers. You need the best guys, who worked on successful games and have the data to know what works and what doesn’t. And you need specifics, not general advice.”

Bogdan IliesiuFounder, Angry Mob Games

Work that moved
the number.

Three products, three different problems. Examples of my work on pricing, paid features, product design and the purchase experience.

WHAT SHOULD YOU SELL NEXT?

Higher revenue per player.

FrontierVille · Zynga

Designed the “partner” feature, where two players each had to contribute to win the best reward. In the words of the product manager I built it with:

“Our last feature made more Revenue/Player than most other features till date.”

Devdatta Gangal, Product Manager, FrontierVille at Zynga

AN ESTABLISHED APP IN DECLINE

Reversed a multi-year decline.

An established mobile app · Client confidential

The app had been declining for several years. We revised pricing, paid content and the purchase experience. Growth returned within the first year.

WHAT SHOULD YOU SELL NEXT?

From concept to a game with 14M+ downloads.

Hempire · LBC Studios

Helped two first-time founders conceive, validate and design the game before launch (2015). An Innovations of the World profile of LBC Studios reported more than 14 million lifetime downloads. That is the game’s reported scale, not a measured lift from my work.

“There just wouldn’t have been Hempire without Jordan.”

Dennis Molloy, Co-founder, LBC Studios

Your product data stays confidential. I won’t publish your numbers or work without your permission.

Jordan Blackman, founder of Bright Black Associates
Jordan Blackman speaking about product value and monetization

Jordan Blackman.
In your corner.

I’ve spent more than 20 years helping teams shape, launch and improve products. My experience includes Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, AMC, EA Sports, The Pokémon Company, Zynga and Ubisoft, where I conceived and led CSI: Crime City.

I look at the whole product: what makes it valuable today, why people return and what they want to achieve next. Then I weigh how changes to features, pricing and free or paid access affect acquisition, retention and revenue together.

Every request is handled personally by me. I bring a fresh perspective, with no attachment to the existing plan. Independent since 2012.

Warner Bros. · Heads Up!
Long-running product strategy, pricing and paid-content work.

“His direction kept objectives simple, focused, and achievable at a critical phase when and where it was needed most.”

Randolph PlanckFounder and CEO, Remember When Games

“At the time, launching a Facebook game based on a major prime time television franchise was a rough ride through unchartered waters, but I had no concerns as Jordan steered the ship masterfully. The game received high accolades from CSI productions, CBS management and the gaming community reaching over 2 million MAU.”

Maryann MartinClient partner on CSI: Crime City

“Honest, extremely intelligent, and easy to work with - I would team up with Jordan again without hesitation.”

Brian ChoCo-founder, Patron · Formerly a16z

Easy to start.
Clear on what comes next.

  1. Sign up

    One monthly rate. Easy online checkout. Pause or cancel anytime.

    YOUR MEMBERSHIPGrowth Mode is on.You’re working directly with Jordan.
  2. Get started

    Share your situation. I’ll guide you from there.

    YOUR FIRST REQUEST

    “People use our app.
    Why aren’t more paying?”

    Your product + the context
  3. Get results

    A change your team can act on.Get a recommendation, the reasoning behind it and a practical way to test it.

    FROM JORDANYour next move.
    01 What to change
    02 Why it matters
    03 What to test

Focused reviews and decision memos in 2–3 business days. Larger requests delivered in stages.

Ready to try
Growth Mode?

One monthly rate. No hourly billing or a new proposal for every request.

GROWTH MODEMONTHLY

Monetization.
One monthly rate.

Only 3 seats available at this rate
$5,995$3,995/month

Keep your rate while active or paused. Applicable tax is calculated at checkout.

  • Monetization reviews, feature concepts and revenue models
  • Unlimited monetization requests in your queue
  • You choose the priority; one active request, with revisions
  • Focused reviews and decision memos in 2–3 business days
  • Work directly with Jordan on your private board; no required meetings
  • Pause or cancel anytime; bank unused days when you pause

After checkout, send your first request from the confirmation page. Jordan will review it personally and guide you from there. No kickoff call required.

Try Growth Mode

$3,995/month · Paid subscription · 14-day money-back guarantee

Book a 15-minute fit call

14-day
money-back guarantee.

Try working with me for 14 days of active service. If you’re not happy, email me within that window and I’ll refund your first payment in full.

No questions asked.Read the guarantee details

Pause while
your team builds.

Save unused service days for when you need the next piece of work. Your rate stays with you when you return.

Email me to pause or cancel. Pausing stops work and billing; cancellation stops future renewal.

Have a first request in mind? Bring it to a 15-minute call. We’ll discuss whether Growth Mode fits the work you need.

Frequently asked
questions.

How do I turn on Growth Mode?

Subscribe, then use the confirmation page to send your first request with the email address you used at checkout. I’ll review your request personally and guide you through any other context I need to get started.

We’ll start with your product, goals and biggest challenge. I’ll let you know which existing designs, data or other context would help. I’ll set up your private request board so you can add requests and choose their order. I work on one at a time.

Focused reviews and decision memos take 2–3 business days once the relevant context is available; larger requests are delivered in stages. If essential material is missing, I’ll tell you what I need and how it affects timing. Your monthly membership and 14-day guarantee start when you pay.

How will you understand our product?

I start with your product, goals and the decision you’re facing. I review the relevant designs, data and past work, then ask focused follow-up questions where needed.

We keep that context on your private board so you don’t have to start over with every request. If a recommendation depends on an assumption, I’ll make it clear.

How fast will I receive my work?

Focused reviews, feature feedback and decision memos take 2–3 business days once the relevant context is available. Larger requests, such as a roadmap, pricing analysis or business model, are delivered in stages with agreed dates. Send the relevant material with your request; if something essential is missing, I’ll tell you what I need and how it affects timing.

How do pausing and cancellation work?

Email jordan@brightblack.co when you want to pause. Work and billing stop, and unused prepaid calendar days are banked. When you return, use those days before the next charge. Service resumes within two business days. Members keep their agreed monthly rate through pauses. Cancellation stops future renewal.

How does the 14-day guarantee work?

Try working with me for your first 14 days of active service. If you’re not happy, email within that window for a full refund of your first payment. No questions asked. It applies once per business, starting when you pay; later payments follow the normal pause and cancellation terms.

Pausing freezes the remaining guarantee days, and you can request a refund while paused if days remain. If I delay the first useful delivery, you get at least seven days to review it, or can request the refund before it arrives. Refunds are initiated within two business days. A refund ends remaining service and future billing.

How long does my rate last?

The rate you join at stays the same while your membership is active or paused. Pausing and resuming won’t change it.

Can I join for one month or one project?

Yes. Bring a suitable project, use the membership, then pause or cancel. If you finish early, pausing saves unused service days for later. Ending the subscription stops future charges; refunds follow the first-payment guarantee.

How do requests and revisions work?

Send requests and feedback directly to Jordan on your private board. No required meetings. Add as many requests within the membership’s scope as you like, and choose their order. Send a link, document, design, report or short recording with your goal or question. I work on one request at a time, including revisions. You don’t need to know the right deliverable before asking.

Who will I be working with?

Growth Mode is a one-person practice run by me, Jordan Blackman, founder of Bright Black Associates. I don’t employ other consultants or outsource client work. You’ll work directly with me throughout your membership.

Can you help prioritize our monetization work?

Yes. I can review the ideas and evidence you already have, recommend priorities and develop the next change in stages. That can include pricing, paid features, purchase journeys and the value customers receive after paying. Your team owns estimates, staffing and delivery.

Can you review our data or build a model?

Yes. I can analyze existing reports or manageable data exports, identify patterns and recommend what to investigate next. I can also build editable scenarios showing how adoption, conversion, revenue and costs could affect a feature or business decision. Assumptions stay visible; a scenario is not a prediction.

Can you help before we launch?

Yes, if you have a concrete product or concept and the resources to build it. We can develop the free and paid offering, compare revenue scenarios and identify what to validate. Without live customer behavior, more of the work will rest on assumptions we need to test.

Who designs, builds and runs the changes?

I develop product and commercial recommendations, concepts, briefs and specifications. I review your team’s designs and flows and define what a useful test should address. Wireframes or mockups can explain the intended experience.

Your team creates the finished UI, implements changes, sets up tracking and runs experiments. Production design, engineering, data engineering, advanced statistical analysis and day-to-day team management are outside the membership.

Can I see examples of your deliverables?

Client product plans, data and deliverables are confidential, so I can’t share those examples. I’ll protect your work the same way and won’t publish or share it without your permission.

Your own work with me is covered by the 14-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not happy, email me within your first 14 days of active service for a full refund of your first payment. No questions asked.

What does the monetization-manager role include?

You work directly with Jordan on diagnosis, specifications, experiment decisions and commercial models. Choose the requests you need and their order. Your team owns implementation and day-to-day delivery; the membership gives you a senior person to work through the monetization decisions with.

Couldn’t we do this with AI?

AI can generate convincing ideas, analyses and models. The harder part is judging whether they’re sound and useful for your product. That’s what you hire me for: checking assumptions, spotting what’s missing and deciding what is worth acting on. I use AI where it helps and take responsibility for reviewing the work I deliver.

Do you guarantee revenue or retention improvements?

Your satisfaction with my work is covered by the 14-day money-back guarantee. You don’t need to prove a metric missed a target to use it. Revenue and retention depend on what gets implemented and how customers respond, and may take months to measure. I can help choose and evaluate improvements, but can’t promise a particular lift or deadline.

Stop going
in circles.

Bring your app, your numbers and the question you’re stuck on. You have 14 days of active service to decide whether the work is worth it, or your first payment comes back.

$3,995/month · Paid subscription · Pause or cancel anytime · 14-day money-back guarantee