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The essentials to sending LinkedIn connection messages
How to write a LinkedIn connection request
Concrete examples and templates of LinkedIn connection
How to send a LinkedIn connection message
Since a social network aims to create relationships and engage with people,we'll see how to ask someone to connect on LinkedIn.
Let's draw the whole process and start with the basic parameters. When it's ready, we'll go into more detail with templates and examples.
Let's dig right in.
Step 1 - How to make a LinkedIn personal profile stand out
The first thing that people see when you send a LinkedIn connection request is:
your photo 🤳
your name 😺
your summary 😎
This builds trust. Therefore, focus on optimizing these components. Starting with...
LinkedIn profile photo
How to pick the right LinkedIn profile photo.
YOU need to be on that photo
Try to highlight your photo in a unique way to catch the attention
Your name and LinkedIn headline
In my case, I added: "I help with Growth 🚀" after my surname to
Attract attention and break the pattern
It shows people what I do straight away
Headline
First of all, this is not your title. It's your description in 120 symbols.
Most people think they need to share just their title. Here's the problem: We all do that.
Don't believe me? Ok, let's check together. How many "Marketing Managers" do you see?
There are millions of "Marketing Managers" and you rarely see anything unique about most of them.
"Ok, but how to stand out with a LinkedIn headline?"
Add your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) in the headline. Tell everyone what makes you different from other experts in the industry.
Here's the formula you can use:
{Title} at {Company Name} - We help {Target Audience} with {USP}
For example, we all know that millions of digital agencies do SEO and PPC campaigns to help their clients generate more leads.
So if you only see: "XYZ - Digital Agency"... it barely tells you anything.
Do you want AI to write your LinkedIn headline? You can speed up crafting the perfect headline with Taplio’s free headline generator.
Step 2 - Who to connect with on LinkedIn
If you try to connect with everyone on LinkedIn - you will fail.
Instead, connect with small groups of people who operate in the same environment as you.
Think about people working in your industry, people you met during events, colleagues you've worked with, professionals you admire, influencers you love, etc.
Let's go through a few strategies for finding your audience precisely. These will help us when writing LinkedIn connection request messages.
Play with LinkedIn search filters:
Using a basic search on LinkedIn is not enough. You should go beyond that, for example, with the boolean search:
OR (e.g., Growth OR Sales) - LinkedIn will list all the profiles that have either one of these two keywords
AND (e.g., Growth AND Content) - A more narrow search as LinkedIn will now look for profiles that must include both terms
NOT (e.g., Growth NOT Sales) - LinkedIn will list profiles that include the word growth and not sales
Type under quote marks (e.g. ****"VP of Growth") to get all LinkedIn profiles with that exact match
Or Sales Navigator search.
Find LinkedIn content makers:
The most active users on LinkedIn are content makers. They're checking inboxes and new connection requests daily.
This is a great tactic to find relevant people to connect with.
Use hashtags when searching
Identify audience through content
Boom!
Now, you have a list of people who write about a specific topic.
If you want to scrape these people and filter them by titles or region, just use Phantombuster’s LinkedIn Search Export.
Step 3 - How to message someone on LinkedIn who is not a connection
You’ve successfully identified with whom we want to connect on LinkedIn, and your profile is all set up. So, how can you message someone who is not a connection?
1. Go to their LinkedIn profile.
2. Click the Connect button.
3. Select Add a note.
4. Once you write the message, click Send.
Your message has to be short (limited to 300 characters), so you should choose the words you'll use and your tone.
Plus, some people already have connections in common with you, and some don't. Be sure to pick the right approach.
7 LinkedIn connection request message templates
There is no right or wrong way to proceed down this road. Sometimes, sending a simple invite with no message can be sufficient to connect with someone.
But if you want to contextualize and start a conversation, you probably want to add an intro message
I'm sure you'll have that "That's the message I have to send to Bob" moment when you see these LinkedIn connection request message templates.
Search-based LinkedIn connect message in B2B
Since LinkedIn is for professionals, everyone puts their title, experience, location, the company they work at, and so on.
You can find the perfect audience to connect with by just using this already available data.
We've tested dozens of different strategies, but the one that always works:
It always gives a 70-75% acceptance rate.
Connection request to LinkedIn business group members
How to connect on LinkedIn based on common interests?
You can also find your target audience by checking what's going on in various communities.
For example, your chances of getting a meaningful connection with someone from a LinkedIn group that you're both a member of are way higher.
In my case, it's an 87% acceptance rate.
Connect on LinkedIn with FB sales group members
It is the same tactic as before, but now with Facebook groups. This is the one we've shown in our LinkedIn lead generation guide.
Results are the same... 70-80% acceptance rate.
LinkedIn connection message example for milestones
If you're in sales and are using LinkedIn for sales prospecting, keeping updates on your leads and their companies is usually a good idea.
You can leverage their recent milestones and congratulate them by staying in sync with the news.
This is a strategy that our Head of Business Development, Nadja, uses regularly.
It's really working great!
Connection request messages to people who engaged on your LinkedIn posts
How exactly does LinkedIn lead generation work?
Let's be frank: not everyone is 100% active on LinkedIn.
If you connect with someone who's not active, chances are you won't get a reply back, no matter how good the message is.
TIn a nutshell, this strategy involves finding a sentence that is highly personalized for this specific person. We named it theTiramisu strategy.hat is a great tip for your lead generation. They've already heard about you before reach out to them!
One of the best growth hacks I did on LinkedIn is ... to go beyond LinkedIn search.
85-90% of people accepted my LinkedIn requests
Recruiting on LinkedIn [connect with top talent]
In a nutshell, this strategy involves finding a sentence that is highly personalized for this specific person. We named it the Tiramisu strategy.
It might be a reference to their summary or work experience. For example, "Saw you've reached 100k organic views in 6 months".
And use it as a variable in your connection campaign:
"Hey, big fan of your work.
I've checked your last achievement shared on LinkedIn and I was quite impressed!
We have a position at lemlist that you might fit into perfectly. Would you be open to hearing more about it?"
This is a message a lot of you can relate to if you're active on LinkedIn. And there are many great job opportunities available too, as well as top talents looking for their next gig. 😊
Multi-channel cold email outreach strategy
Sometimes, people won't accept your invitation or answer your message. But you have a second chance!
You could always try another channel to reach out to them. An email follow-up can be a good idea if you have a professional intent.
In any case, it's always better to make it as personal as possible, so personalized images could be a great way to proceed!
For example, this campaign generated around 80 warm leads!
3 best LinkedIn connection message examples we’ve seen recently
Now, you've seen different examples of LinkedIn connection messages with good conversion rates.
But you understand that there is no magic formula. 🧙♀️ Even the best LinkedIn connection message example can't work for all your requests.
Sometimes, you'll have a crazy creative idea, and you'll find THE message for the right person.
For this last paragraph, we've selected three examples that other people sent to us and that we thought deserved a shout-out.
Example 1: Make it 100% genuine
Sending automated messages that can fit multiple people is solid. However, delivering personalized messages that are genuine is the best.
We can take a simple compliment as an example. The more genuine it is, the easier it is for the person to really connect with it and get the impression that you really meant it.
Here's what Vuk, our Head of Growth, recently received.
If you leverage a common ground or a shared passion with the person you're trying to connect with, it almost always motivates that person to reply to you and start the conversation.
Example 2: Play on referrals
At this point, we all know that the referral outreach strategy is probably the best one to use on any channel.
In this example, Quentin reached out to Vuk's colleague, Marouane, before reaching out to him. By doing so, he increases his chances Vuk would be on the lookout for that message.
In this case, Quentin was working on a new product and wanted to connect with his potential customers to confirm the product-market fit.
You can see Vuk's response. It's the power of a good old referral.
Example 3: Expand your network
The final example of a LinkedIn connect message combines good timing with a straightforward message.
Frank reached out to Vuk after watching a webinar he did a few months ago.
Reaching out at the perfect time is another great way not only to connect with people but also to start chatting.
In this example, Frank and Vuk started exchanging ideas about email deliverability.
Once you’ve connected with your prospects, don’t forget to engage further. Try out our LinkedIn Personalized Voice Messages and stay ahead of the pack!
Key takeaways
-> Now you're ready to go with your perfect LinkedIn connect message on the road to success 🚀
-> Keep in mind that the best messages are personalized ones, created from our authentic experiences.
-> Remember to A/B test when you hesitate. Your audience will help you understand what works best.
You're getting the perfect lead list from Sales Navigator. Now you need a top Chrome extension to export them. We'll leave with our favorite 5 Sales Navigator Chrome extensions.
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