One of the reasons why I haven’t purchased a DSLR yet is because as soon as I read about f-stops my mind freezes and I can’t justify spending $2,000 in camera equipment until I am able to have the time and patience to study photography.

The Cannon Rebel XSi, retailing at around $500, takes some of that fear of commitment away.

Rather than bore you with specs and features, take a look at these photos from my friend Kelly Summers.

She owns a Rebel XSi and uses it with a 50 1.8 lens. (Kelly does not recommend this lens for travel though because it does not zoom in and out).

I like having the option of shooting both the color and Sepia/B&W version of the same shot.

Kelly Summer’s photos are a celebration of life, love and family. She has an eye for capturing mood and feelings but having a camera like the Rebel XSi no doubt helps her create these evocative photos. Her people portraits and images of Paris are simply gorgeous.

I could spend all day posting more of her photos but I think you get the picture. For the price, the Cannon Rebel XSi over delivers.

Find out more here: Cannon Rebel XSi. (This is not an affiliate link).

www.mattandkellysummers.blogspot.com is the personal blog of Kelly Summers. All photos on this post are copyright Kelly Summers.

The information in this guide is not limited to travel blogs. The SEO section alone which covers keywords, link building, Google page ranking and Article Marketing  is worth gold and can benefit any blogger.

How Many Sites Should I Have?

This is one of the questions I’ve been struggling with for a while. According to Matt: Have one flagship blog that you use to share information with other like minded bloggers and to establish a brand and a community and at least 2 static sites to monetize by selling ads. He even reveals the name of one of his static sites in the guide.

Reading Matt’s book also confirmed what I realized several months ago: It’s much easier to monetize a static site than a blog and it takes a lot less work. I sure wish I’d have the benefit of Matt’s guide a year ago when I started blogging.

More Valuable Tips

To make money online it is important to consider SEO from the very beginning. After you’ve been blogging for while, it becomes very time consuming and complex to make a blog SEO friendly.

For beginning bloggers, Matt includes a bonus guide on setting up a brand new blog which includes information on Wordpress settings, plugins, CSS, PHP and HTML.

Make Money With Your Travel Blog will definitely save you time and money. Some of the information in this guide I have slowly figured out over several months of blogging and taking courses but it’s still useful to have this valuable content neatly explained and summarized in one single 38 page document.

One thing I love about this guide is the fact that it gives just enough actionable steps to get up and running, without overwhelming the reader with too much information. I highly recommend it.

Whether you’re trying to build an online business or are happily employed, Crush It! packs excellent tips for everyone, from newbie bloggers to experienced online marketers.

Author, Gary Vaynerchuk reveals highlights of his life story, (truly inspiring), and offers a blueprint of the step-by-step process he used to grow his family’s liquor store into a multimillion dollar business, while establishing his own unique personal brand on the Internet.

Gary advocates the importance of personal branding and his book is filled with actionable steps anyone can put into practice.

The book  concludes with a checklist of 21 concrete action items needed to build a personal brand.

I’m copying item #4 below:

Name your personal brand. Have a clear idea of who you are and what makes you unique. “For example, “The no-bs real-estate agent”, “The connoisseur of cookware” etc.

If you’re looking for gift ideas priced under $15.00, I recommend copies Crush It! for your friends and relatives. (This is not an affiliate link).

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