Full Swing PR's Caitlin Copple on Visibility, GEO & Owning Your Story
Steph Lokelani reunites with her longtime friend Caitlin Copple, founding partner of Full Swing PR, the nation's leading agency for under-recognized leaders in high-growth professional services firms. They open with old-friend banter before Caitlin shares how the two actually met.
Caitlin unpacks what she calls PR 3.0: writing not just for journalists but for the AI models now shaping how people find and judge a business. She explains generative engine optimization (GEO), why earned media and trade publications carry outsized weight with tools like ChatGPT and Claude, and how one client shifted its AI search results within a month. They also cover Steph's rebrand from OMG Studios Boise to In Real Life Films, and why PR should come before a crisis, not after.
The conversation turns personal as Caitlin talks about learning to fly as a single mom in her 40s, why she wishes she'd started her business sooner, and her decade-birthday traditions. She closes with what's underneath her titles: a kid who built tree forts and staged backyard plays, who now calls business the adult expression of that same creative drive.
About Caitlin Copple:
Caitlin Copple is the Founding Partner of Full Swing PR, the nation’s leading agency for underrecognized leaders of high-growth professional services firms. A former journalist turned PR strategist, Caitlin helps clients earn visibility that converts through meaningful media coverage, message clarity, and show-stopping momentum. Her work has helped sell books, passed legislation, ousted corrupt lawmakers, and positioned executives in outlets like CNN, TIME, and Fast Company. Caitlin founded Full Swing in 2019, and with Holly Conti, scaled Full Swing to seven figures in less than four years, earning recognition from Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Mountain West. She's mom to a now-10-year-old and is a private pilot.
About Full Swing PR:
Full Swing PR helps underrecognized professional services companies create visibility strategies to pack sales pipelines. Led by former journalists turned PR partners, Full Swing helps ambitious teams in law, design, and leadership consulting earn millions of dollars through smart, effective PR campaigns. In 2024 and 2025, the agency was named among Inc. Magazine's fastest-growing privately held companies in the Rocky Mountain Region.
Key Takeaways:
- PR is now written for two audiences at once. Caitlin calls this PR 3.0: earned media and trade publications increasingly shape what ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini say about your business.
- Generative engine optimization (GEO) is the new SEO. One client's mismatched messaging was repositioned and reflected in AI search results within about a month.
- Build your PR reputation before you need it - don't wait for a crisis to start earning credibility.
- Own what you can't lose. A newsletter list and a website you control matter more than social platforms that can vanish overnight.
- It's never too late to start. Caitlin wishes she'd launched Full Swing before 35; she and her business partner Holly scaled it to $1 million in under four years.
- Titles don't define you. Underneath the awards, Caitlin says she's still the kid who built tree forts and staged backyard plays.
Chapters:
0:00 – Cold open
0:42 – Welcome + meet Caitlin Copple
1:04 – Teaser: a shed full of potatoes
3:51 – Caitlin's bio: Full Swing PR
4:35 – How they met: a gubernatorial campaign
7:06 – "Call your fans": early business advice
7:55 – Being visible as an LGBTQ business owner
9:14 – What is a visibility scorecard?
9:29 – Defining PR: more than press releases
10:21 – The flotilla: an off-grid branding retreat
13:44 – Flying a pride flag down the Middle Fork
14:31 – Scaling Full Swing to $1M in under 4 years
15:18 – Becoming an "unlikely entrepreneur"
16:18 – Why focus on women and BIPOC leaders
16:42 – Podcasts as the new magazine feature
17:35 – PR 3.0: writing for journalists and machines
19:15 – Why long press releases feed AI search
19:50 – Case study: fixing a mismatched niche fast
21:00 – Steph's rebrand: OMG Studios to IRL Films
22:28 – Don't wait for a crisis to do PR
23:14 – Why third-party validation builds trust
25:17 – Holly's Q50 award, Caitlin's Idaho Women of the Year award
27:02 – Dr. Fara and the dermatology PR playbook
28:09 – Where "Full Swing" got its name
29:05 – Learning to fly as a single mom
30:20 – Trading a retired plane for a Cessna 172
31:44 – Female pilots and quiet determination
33:01 – Big birthdays: the 30th "wedding" and beyond
34:23 – Why Caitlin doesn't put things off
35:05 – Stepping back, journaling, and slowing down
37:20 – The every-decade tradition
44:18 – 27 press clips in a month, and Idaho's bathroom bill
46:44 – GEO, explained again for the AI era
48:41 – How Steph uses AI for this podcast
49:20 – Is Caitlin afraid of AI?
50:23 – Advice for anyone on the fence about starting a business
51:12 – Freedom, healthcare, and never going back
51:46 – Full Swing's resources and owning your list
55:46 – Matching PR strategy to business goals
56:18 – Closing question
57:23 – Tree forts, then and now
58:24 – Wrap-up
