How Kira Hug’s brilliant framework became a personality-filled virtual workshop

Kira already had a unique framework. We added virtual facilitation tools and expert facilitation support to take Kira’s idea from theoretical to tangible, designed, and done

“Annie's the bomb. I trust her. And she has the MOST credibility and experience in the workshop creation space. I don't know anyone else who could take my vision and turn it into such an incredible interactive workshop. Now it’s an asset I can use and improve in my biz over time. It's also valuable IP that Annie helped upgrade.” 

— Kira Hug, Co-Founder of The Copywriter Club, Co-Host of The Copywriter Club podcast

Kira wanted to create an engaging virtual workshop, but she was struggling to turn her vision into something tangible

Kira Hug was planning a workshop to help copywriters infuse personality into their brands. She was going to present her workshop at The Copywriter Club’s annual conference, TCC IRL, but this year, the conference would be virtual. She wanted workshop participants to learn to think about brand personality in a completely new way, and she wanted it to be more fun than a typical Zoom call. Her dream was to blow attendees away with so much value that they would feel inspired to immediately join the high-level mastermind she leads with partner in crime, Rob Marsh: The Copywriter Think Tank.

The challenge? Kira was overwhelmed with tasks and running out of time (she’s the Beyoncé of copywriting, remember? The woman is in high demand). She didn’t have the capacity to plan, design, and facilitate it all on her own.

She had lots of ideas and expert content to share, but she couldn’t quite decide on a format, and didn’t know how to make sure the workshop would be energizing and interactive for all of the participants (not just the ones who would be on-screen). On top of that, the tech stuff made her a little nervous. What if something glitched?

“I was struggling to turn my vision into a real workshop I could present. I was also seriously out of time and overwhelmed with so many other tasks,” Kira remembers.

She needed a how person: someone who could take all of these ideas swirling around in her brain and formulate a plan to execute them. 

“I was struggling to turn my vision into a real workshop I could present. I was also seriously out of time and overwhelmed with so many other tasks.”

Clarifying logistics and timeline, thinking collaboratively, and designing a virtual whiteboard space

OUR ROLE

We plan and facilitate virtual workshops for business owners who want to provide more value to their online communities. Our team helped Kira:

• Get clear on the exercises and facilitation tools she would use to engage her audience

• Design a beautiful, interactive Miro board for her workshop

• Plan logistics, timeline, and workshop details, so she could focus on facilitating like a rockstar

Here’s how we did it:

BACKGROUND

First, Annie assigned Kira some reading on workshop theory. After all, facilitation is a skill that has to be learned, and some seriously smart people have figured out the best way to lead workshops. After she'd done that, we introduced her to the 4 C's frameworks of workshops, and together we discussed what she wanted the workshop to look like

DISCOVERY

We asked Kira questions like:

• How many participants are you expecting?

• What would make this workshop a total win?

• What are you nervous about?

• How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? (Just kidding, but if I had asked I bet Kira would have known the answer)

PLANNING

We came up with the exercises and facilitation tools we would use during Kira’s workshop. Kira already had a framework she used to help people define their personal brands, and we decided to showcase the framework by bringing two copywriters with very different brands on stage as participants.

DESIGN

Maca, designer and workshop extraordinaire, created the visually-stunning, interactive Miro board of our dreams.

PREP

Annie put together a timeline and outlined the workshop from start to finish, so Kira could focus on all of the other things on her plate. Two weeks before the workshop, Kira had a practice session to nail down Miro logistics, work out kinks, and run through the agenda.

WORKSHOP TIME!

Kira facilitated the workshop, while Annie helped moderate. Annie also provided support with all of the moving pieces like timers and the Miro board.

“It was easy breezy. Like, so easy. Annie spent time with me and pulled out all my ideas. And then she went away in her creation cave and did all the work for me. It was incredible.”

The result: An interactive brand workshop with personality as big as Kira’s

Kira’s presentation went off without a hitch. Her on-stage participants, Maria Thompson and Caitlin Riley, had the opportunity to imagine their “brand living rooms,” from look and feel, to style. They even got to receive live feedback from audience members about how their brands were being perceived.

“I appreciated the feedback I received from the group, and if anything, I wish the exercise was twice as long!“ says Caitlin. “Prior to the Living Room workshop, I had trouble visualizing and conceiving how I wanted to present myself as a copywriter and creative. Working with Kira on this project allowed me to envision my brand identity in a way that was unexpected, creative, and eye-opening.”

“The questions Kira asked helped me do an end run around my brain. Rather than asking, ‘what does your brand look and feel like,’ she asked me to show,” says Maria. “The workshop itself was so much fun. It didn’t feel like work.”

In addition Caitlin and Maria, who were the two “on-stage” participants during the workshop, the 37 copywriters in the audience got to:

• Learn a completely new framework for thinking about brand personality

• See how they could use an interactive workshop like this one to work with their own clients

• Work through some of the exercises Caitlin and Maria did and imagine what their personal copywriter “brand living rooms” might look like

• Provide live feedback to Caitlin and Maria, and learn from what other copywriters were sharing

Needless to say, they got a lot of value. And it definitely wasn’t your typical Zoom meeting. The chat was popping off with feedback like:

Kira had more fun than she expected, too.

“Now I love workshops and Miro,” says Kira. “I felt confident delivering my workshop with very little prep on my end. I felt like it was valuable. And it's now an asset I can use and improve in my biz over time. It's also valuable IP that Annie helped upgrade.”

Kira has already run the workshop a second time in her mastermind. She’s also thinking of ways to turn it into a course or a book. And she’s excited to continue using virtual, creative, interactive events like this one to build more value into her signature programs.

“I felt confident delivering my workshop with very little prep on my end.  I felt like it was valuable. And it's now an asset I can use and improve in my biz over time. It's also valuable IP that Annie helped upgrade.”

Ready to turn your own idea into a fun, interactive, virtual workshop? 

Tell us what’s swirling around in your head, and we’ll talk about how to turn it into a tangible, done-and-designed virtual event.