“Don’t propose marriage on the first date.”
Catharine O’Leary might be talking about email marketing… but if you’ve ever sent a “book a call” link to cold subscribers and heard crickets, you already know exactly what she means.
Catharine spent 25+ years doing market research for major brands—helping them understand what people actually want and how they decide. Then she became an entrepreneur… and ran into the same problem so many founders face:
You know you need a list.
But building one (that actually engages) can feel slow, confusing, and painfully techy.
In this episode of Grow Your Impact, Income & Influence, Catharine breaks down what really creates an engaged list—and how to get your first 1,000 subscribers without throwing money at ads or spending years doing it one person at a time.
Steve and Catharine cover:
📩 Why “build your list fast” often builds a list that doesn’t care (and how to avoid the ghost-town list problem)
🧲 What a lead magnet is supposed to do (hint: it’s not a discovery call—and it’s not a “buy my $7 thing” ambush)
🏁 The fastest path to a real quick win that makes subscribers trust you enough to take the next step
🔥 How to write emails people actually read (even if you “aren’t a writer”)
🤖 Where AI helps—and where it hurts when you’re trying to sound like a human, not a brochure
🎯 Why segmentation beats “more content” (and how to find the 3AM problem your audience is actually worried about)
🚫 Why most entrepreneurs shouldn’t run ads yet (and what to do instead so you’re not lighting money on fire)
👥 Thousand Person Tribe: a cold-traffic shortcut to your first 1,000—without tech overwhelm, confusion, or calendar chaos
If you’re building an audience from scratch (or your list is growing but not converting), Catharine will help you stop guessing—and start building a list that actually pays attention.
👉 Want to try Catharine’s system and get your first 100 leads?
Check the links in the show notes for TPT Gift / Thousand Person Tribe.
