As a blogger, it is important to have resources that help with our mission and achieve the results we want. Every blogger will have a different niche and as a result, you will find a big disparity between every individual.
As a faith-based blogger, I require help not just from a practical perspective, but also from the Spiritual side. Below you will find everything I use and need in order to run my blog and deliver amazing content to you all.
Bible
I think my fellow Christians would heavily chastise me if I didn’t include this as one of my resources, particularly as a Christian and a faith-based blogger.
This is where the majority of my crucial information comes from, not just with blogging, but life.
The word in this book helps me to reinforce the message I am called to deliver to you all, but also as a guide when I am stuck for ideas or any issues I face.
The Bible is the best-selling book of all time with over 5 billion copies sold. That is over half of the population of the entire planet. With something as best-selling as this and how impactful it is in people’s lives; it is understandable to see why this is the most valuable resource that I need.
Laptop
Again, an undeniable choice as without a laptop, I have no blog.
This is the gateway to the world of blogging and online as a whole.
The beautiful thing is that any working laptop will do just fine to help get started.
I was without a proper working Apple Mac for almost two years. It wasn’t until 2024, after years of saving up, that I finally got one, and the journey of blogging online could begin.
If you’re not in a position to get a new laptop/computer and you need one, please don’t panic. As I said, it took me years before I got one, that is not to diminish the timeframe, it was saving up each month and this was my reward.
Any laptop will do, it’s the software that is where the masterpiece of blogging is birthed.
Bluehost and WordPress
This I the beating heart of where my blogging comes from. This is where my blogging comes from and the place where I will be spending the majority of time as I create, edit, and post blogs.
Bluehost is where I register my domain. As soon as the pay button is hit, the blog is born and it is amazingly cheap. I am paying only £1.61 every month. Which means each year I pay £19.32. Earning that back will take no time at all.
WordPress is the host where I will be creating, editing, and posting my blogs from. I like to consider this as the engine room where the work is done. There is also the opportunity for growth to add additional features to beautify your blog further.
The best thing is that if you sign up using Bluehost. You get WordPress at no extra expense and for £1.61 a month, that is more than a bargain, effectively a steal. (For my Christian friends, this is not literal, it is just an expression.)
FYI, there is a difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com:
WordPress.org Is self-hosted, meaning you have complete control over your blog.
WordPress.com is not self-hosted. plus, you would have to pay separately as it isn’t included with Bluehost, so that’s another financial expense.
I advocate for Bluehost and WordPress.org, so if you want someone who has first-hand experience using it, it gets my thumbs up.
Divi
Those pictures, colours and designs you see on my blog. Divi is the software responsible.
All the graphic designing is done here and it has a wide variety of designs and templates. Something for everybody.
Here is one of the most beautiful things about it. It is completely free. You can install this via WordPress and explore what works for you and what takes your fancy.
Nothing like beautifying your blog.
Pen and paper
Sometimes the best things don’t involve technology, but something simple and nothing beats basic when it comes to writing than a good old-fashioned pen and paper.
I have a multitude of notebooks filled with endless notes on scripts I’ve done in the past and a couple on blogging. If something comes up unexpectedly, like when I am out and about, or if I’m home and I don’t have my laptop nearby or if the Wi-Fi and internet are down. It helps to write it down so that I don’t forget.
Believe me, if I don’t write it down, I will forget.
Sometimes as well it is good to just disconnect away from technology and the online world and just lost in your own thoughts and ideas by writing them down, instead of typing them.
A blogger’s best friend for driving traffic to their blog via pins linking to blog posts they have written.
Not every blogger uses Pinterest as there are other social media platforms that they will use. But Pinterest is one that I will be using.
There is never any shortage of topics that one is looking to find, or for bloggers, what to write about within our niche.
The broad spectrum that Pinterest provides means there is always something for everyone and when you click onto our Pins you get directed to our blog where a post is written about the pin.
Plus you can sign up to a pin board and become part of a community of people who have the same interests as you.
She Dreams All Day
She Dreams All Day is a blog by Mia Brox who helps people start up a blog and how to navigate the wave of the online world to turn it into a profitable business.
There are others out there who are involved in the same thing, but Mia is who I was drawn to, because of her extensive knowledge on the topic, but also, like me, she is an introvert, and her blog is aimed at that group of people specifically and she has such a fun and bubbly personality and makes everyone smile she connects with.
When you sign up to become a part of her email list, you get a freebie masterclass that helps you start a blog up with the option to purchase her Dreamer to Blogger course which goes into greater detail.
I have purchased more courses from her, to not just get the best start, but also accelerate the monetization of my blog, to do this full-time and live a career I not only enjoy and love, but am called to do. In her words: “Live the cozy pajama lifestyle.
Amira’s Self-Legal Bundle
This is one of the absolute musts you need in place BEFORE you launch your blog.
You can have blog posts ready, and pages you think would be important, but the most important page that is a 100% must is the legal pages.
These pages make sure that your blog complies with the laws in your country. They work across many countries around the world.
For further peace of mind, Amira is not only a lawyer, but she is also a fellow blogger who has helped many others and has all the documents you need to grow your blog and business as well as protect them. So she understands both worlds, the blog and the law and knows how to make it work for you.
For what it is worth, it is very affordable, requires a one-off payment only and any updates that do happen are completely free at no further expense.
Myself
Of course, for a blog to operate, it needs a person behind it and for my blog Manna for Heroes, that is me.
Every blog is unique and that is because all of us are different you will never find 2 blogs the same (or 5 or 500, or whatever number you want to put there.)
Blogs will always need a human behind them, even with AI on the rise. It may get things done quicker, but machines and software will always need a human behind it to maintain and program it.
When you go onto a blog, the blogger behind it is inviting you into their life and what they are passionate about. They share their heart with you and show you their world as you both forge a relationship.
Manna for Heroes is not just my world, but my career and my calling, that I hope I can help you with as well as showing you my own.
We are all family.
On a final note, I know some people are probably thinking, Ben, you missed off the most important one of the lot, God himself.
I haven’t forgotten about him, he is constantly in my heart whenever I write a blog post, but God is not a resource, he is THE Source. Without him, and without him calling me Manna for Heroes would not exist today and I would not be here writing for all of you.
So in effect, we can round up everything I need to 10 things. One source and nine resources.