Step Out of Your Comfort Zone, I did!

Have you ever had anxiety induced by trying something new? Yes! I have.

This is my first newsletter and for the past two days I've been anxious about it.

Even today, I'm wondering "Am I posting what I should be posting in a newsletter? Will people really subscribe to see more of this?"

The anxiety started last week when I posted a poll about what to call my newsletter.

This is one of the first times I've not gone with the popular opinion. The majority of people voted for "Leverage Up on LinkedIn" for the name of my newsletter. Here's the reason I didn't choose that one and went against the grain:

1. I went to school for broadcasting. In fact, I was a TV News Producer for 6 years and when Andy Foote suggested this name (The Deanna Russo Report) in that poll post last Thursday, I instantly went back 20 years. I've always resonated with the broadcasting world and I thought The Deanna Russo Report was spot on.

2. I've always said that people do business with people they know, like and trust. If you subscribe to a newsletter called The Deanna Russo Report, you will always know who sent it as opposed to the name of my company which you may not be familiar with.

3. I post content as Deanna Russo so people have gotten to know me so it makes sense that my newsletter incorporates my name into the title.

I always tell people "You do you." Now I'm taking my own advice, The Deanna Russo Report is me doing me.

Now getting back to trying something new, I've been worried and nervous about launching this newsletter because I'm very comfortable with posting content here but launching a newsletter is outside my comfort zone. Lots of other people are doing it, but it's new for me.

Can you relate?

I also was nervous the very first time I posted content on LinkedIn. I'll never forget the first time I posted on LinkedIn. It was Halloween of 2018 and I posted a video and back then a very small number of people were doing videos on LinkedIn. I thought "Now's my chance for people to see me. Hear me. Relate with what Deanna is saying. Earn the know, like and trust."

If you're considering posting content and you're nervous or anxious about it, I hope that seeing me do something new like posting a newsletter helps give you piece of mind that you can do it.

Posting content on LinkedIn is one part of the LinkedIn triangle strategy that I work with my clients on because a very small percentage of people do it. Think about that - there are 810 million people on LinkedIn and about 3% actually post content here.

That's when I stepped into a content marketing strategy for myself and before you knew it, it worked.

So when I set up my Leverage Up business I incorporated the three things that worked for me - Profile, Engagement and Content - and that's my triangle strategy and I work with my clients on each of those pieces because you can't have one without the other.

Here's what you'll get by subscribing to this newsletter - you'll get concrete things you can use to help you be better on LinkedIn - including how to take your profile from drab to dynamic, how to strategically have conversations on LinkedIn, and how to post content for LinkedIn, without being salesy. You'll also get my take on all the "new stuff" that LinkedIn rolls out. While I'm excited by LinkedIn Audio, if I get kicked off the mobile version again, well let's just say I'll be taking a break from it until the kinks get worked out.

By subscribing to my monthly newsletter here or signing up for my email blast which will come to your inbox every other week, one thing I know for sure - you'll NEVER get sales pitches. I don't believe in doing that.

I always provide value via my content on LinkedIn, and my newsletter will be doing the same.

What are the takeaways from this newsletter? You do you and try something new. What new thing have you tried to do?