Lola The Rescued Cat Has a New Look!

Lola: Hello, and Happy Thursday! Oh boy, do we have an exciting surprise for you today! Take a look around our blog for a second… do you notice anything different? Go ahead… take a look. We changed our design! 

Lexy: That’s right, folks! We have re-branded and re-designed. Mother has been working behind the scenes with Glogirly on our new look. It was so clandestine that even Katie and Waffles weren’t able to give us any information! I may be biased, but I think it’s just fab.  

Lola: Me, too.  At first, Lexy and I were a little insulted that she didn’t ask for our opinions, but she made good choices. I just love it! 

Lexy: Now for the full explanation, let’s turn it over to Mother. 

Dawn:  Thank you, girls. Where do I start? I guess the beginning would be a good place. 

In the Beginning

When I started my blog in 2014, the initial purpose was to market my book, in addition to being an extension of my Facebook page. It took me a long time to get started because I was on a different blogging platform that I couldn’t navigate. Debbie Glovatsky came to my rescue, set me up on Blogger, and re-designed my old blog. (She even weathered through my emails asking, “How do I publish a post?!?” and other questions.) At that point I wanted everything to match my book cover, which I loved (and still do.) It made sense at that time.

My Blog Came To Life! 

As I became more involved in the Blogosphere, I saw how much fun others were having with their blogs. They weren't only having fun, they were sharing important information that pet parents needed. I wanted to do that, and I wanted to raise more awareness of rescue and adoption as well. Little by little the girls allowed me to post more frequently and I started writing more informational articles. I also started getting on the radar of brands, PR agencies, and rescue groups. As all of this began to evolve, I realized my tagline “From being thrown in a dumpster to the luckiest cat in the world” no longer fit the direction of my blog. That tagline fits Lola and my book, but not the broader direction I wanted to pursue. 

BlogPaws 2017 Sealed the Deal

I had been thinking of re-designing and re-branding, but I didn’t know exactly what type of design I wanted. I learned SO much at BlogPaws this May – information that I was able to walk away with to implement change. In the Branding Workshop led by Chloe Divita, Felissa Effelbein and Aimee Beltran, ideas started coming to life and I realized I needed to do this now and create consistency with my branding. My fonts and color palettes were all over the place in my graphics and things were a big mishmash! 

I also learned how to better navigate and use Canva, AND I understood a little bit of SEO! 

My New Direction

I contacted Debbie again, and after telling her what I wanted to do she immediately had ideas for me. We started with tweaking my logo just a bit with a change of font and a twist in the color palette. I loved it so much that I got two logos!

I wanted my new blog design to be lighter and brighter, more pleasing to the eye, and more welcoming. I think we nailed it! Thank you, Debbie! 

Before on the Left, and our new design on the Right. 

Before tackling a new tagline I did a blog audit. I was surprised to learn that 60% of my highest performing posts of all time were about advocacy and health/wellness (which included some reviews.) I also learned that a good portion of my traffic comes from organic Google searches. Now that was surprising! It tells me I need to write more evergreen content that is helpful to cat parents. 

I wanted my new tagline to represent the new direction my blog has taken. When I was thinking of words that describe my blog, or what I want my message to my readers to be, three words were prominent: advocacy, education, and entertainment. Advocacy for animal welfare will always be important to me and a large part of my blog; I want to continue to educate my readers on how to help their cats have better lives; and personally, I think my girls are very entertaining! Without them I would not be doing this, and they will always be the biggest part of my blog. (Lexy writes a much better review than I do, anyway.) 
When I saw samples of my new business cards...

...I knew that was the right tagline.  

I’m still fine-tuning the graphics piece, but it’s definitely coming along. 

Every single person that visits my blog, and every single comment that people take the time to leave, has given me inspiration and motivation.  Thank you for being a part of my journey, for loving Lola and Lexy, and for being our friends. 

Lola: Mommy, I’d like to say something. 

Dawn: Ok, go ahead, Poopsie. 

Lola: Mommy! Please don’t embarrass me in front of our friends. 

Dawn: Oh, sorry, Schmoopie. 

Lola: *horrified* MOMMY! Geesh! Anyhoo, I’d like to say that even though the title of this blog is Lola The Rescued Cat, it represents my whole family, even humans. And even Will’s boy cats, who’ll you’ll read about someday soon. Even though girls rule. 

Lexy: We hope you like our re-branding and new look. Now, let’s break out that nip and celebrate!
Dawn, Lola and Lexy