If you have employees – and are interested in increasing their productivity – the good news is that according to the latest research, a 1% improvement in management can lead to a 25% increase in productivity. The bad news: better management starts with you.

According to Ken Blanchard, the author of the One Minute Manager and a leading expert in the field of leadership, management and motivation, there is a process to becoming a better manager. He has broken it down into simple, concrete steps you can use with your employees.

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Every day you find one or more postcards in your mailbox. It isn’t surprising: postcard advertising is one of the most cost effective ways to put your message directly in front of potential customers. Every post card gets read, even if just for a moment.

Unfortunately, many established studios have gotten out of the habit of sending post cards, and instead focus their marketing on (cheaper) mediums like Facebook.

The irony is that no marketing tool beats post cards when it comes to differentiating yourself as a professional photographer. Beginning photographers don’t send them: they don’t have the budget, the mailing list, or the huge selection of images to choose from to create the perfect post card.

Here are 4 simple steps to maximizing your return on a post card marketing campaign:

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I have no interest in learning Adobe Illustrator, but one of the things it is useful for is that it lets you create graphic objects like curves. These are great for customizing borders, or for adding interesting visual elements to print or web-based ads.

Fortunately, Photoshop has many of the same graphic tools. Below is a step-by-step example of how to create a little curved border using the Pen Tool.

Step 1: Open your image and create a new layer.

Step 2: Select the Pen Tool from the toolbar.

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If you have at least one employee, chances are you hired them. Their training was basically you showing them how you wanted the job done. You give them encouragement when they do a good job, but mainly you leave them alone and let them do their work.

Then after a few months, you find yourself biting your tongue when they do something wrong. You tell yourself, “they aren’t perfect, but replacing them would be hard. Besides, it would be tough to find someone else that knows my business and is willing to work for what I can afford to pay.”

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