7 Steps to Craft the LinkedIn Connect Message

1. Conducting research

This step involves gathering info about the recipient including their designation, company, recent activities, and overall professional journey. Conducting the research helps to ensure that you are reaching a relevant person with a personalized message. Moreover, it helps to find a common ground that you will use to make your message relevant to them. Research-based messages indicate effort and authenticity. While it helps to build trust, it often ends up time-consuming for larger outreach.

2. Stating context

Whenever you are sending a LinkedIn message, make sure that you offer a brief context into why you want to connect. This gives the recipient a valid reason to connect and engage with you. Your context has to be concise and to the point to be easily understood. It should not have a lot of transactional and self-centered factors. Context gives your message a credible backing however, poorly written context often misleads the recipient.

3. Adding personalisation

Your LinkedIn Connects message should have a personalized and conversational approach that shows you have put effort into this. Start by mentioning the recipient's name, company, some industry insight, or relevant interest. A personalized message creates the base for meaningful and engaging interaction while increasing the likelihood of message requests getting accepted quickly. While personalizing the message is time-consuming, it creates a strong first impression.

4. Keeping it value-oriented

Your LinkedIn connect message should be value-oriented for both parties. Whether you want to connect for learning, collaboration, or just networking, state the value part clearly and briefly. This helps to create a long-term relationship rather than a shallow one. A value-oriented message is ideal for building meaningful relationships however misinterpretation of value results in a poor impression.

5. Keeping a balanced tone

Your LinkedIn message should have a balance of informal and formal tone. While your message should be conversational and engaging, it should remain professional and respectful. It should neither sound too robotic nor too casual. Try to use appropriate and polite language while avoiding slang and offensive words. A balanced tone helps to create engaging interactions, however, maintaining the balance of tone turns out to be tricky.

6. Following the character limit

LinkedIn has a 300-character limit for connection messages. Make sure your message fits in the available limit while fulfilling its purpose. Avoid adding irrelevant details and keep it concise by giving just a brief introduction or context into your interest to connect. While it is time-saving for both parties, a limited-character message might not deliver full value.

7. Adding relevant CTA

While finalizing your LinkedIn connect message, make sure to add your CTA in the end for continued engagement. Whether you want to connect over LinkedIn, collaborate, need a job, have an insight or a question, or want to connect over a meeting, briefly mention it while ending your message. Your CTA should be brief and low-pressure. It helps to create engagement however an over-emphasized CTA results in request rejection.

What is a LinkedIn connect message?

A LinkedIn connect message is a short personalized note that you draft and send when you request to connect with someone on LinkedIn. There is a limit to the characters you are supposed to use in the message. The limit of characters depends on your account whether it’s standard or premium. A connection note helps to provide an introduction or a brief context regarding the reason you want to connect with the said person. 

The presence of a connection note. A connection note adds more personalization to your request which increases the chances of it getting accepted quickly.

A LinkedIn connection request is the perfect way to express interest in someone’s work or profile, show relevance, and appear different from the rest of the crowd.

What are the types of LinkedIn connect messages?

The types of LinkedIn Connect messages are networking messages, job hunt messages, mutual factor messages, collaboration messages, prospecting messages, referral messages, appreciation messages, and follow-up messages.

Some of the main types of LinkedIn connect messages are listed below:

Networking messages

Networking connection messages are helpful when you are aiming to grow your network and connect with people who are relevant to you or your industry. A networking message is drafted by briefly introducing yourself, a context into why you want to connect, and finally showing an interest in connecting and networking.

This helps to establish a relationship over LinkedIn with people who you don’t know personally but would like to have a connection with. Keep the networking messages generic with the context of connecting for the purpose of networking. This approach opens the door for potential collaborations and conversations.

Job hunt messages

Job hunt messages help to connect with recruiters, hiring managers, or professionals within your field who might help you find a job or offer some valuable career advice. To send a job hunt message request, search for relevant people by filtering out designations and then send the connection note by mentioning their expertise and your aim to find a job or advice from them and finally mention a request to connect in the end by mentioning something like let’s connect?

A direct approach like this is appreciated by people as it helps to avoid wasted time for both parties involved while the purpose is fulfilled.

Mutual factor messages

Mutual factor messages help to create a common ground between two entities and get connected on the basis of that. Some people tend to use a mutual connection whereas some would benefit from common industry or perspectives to use as a topic to initiate discussion. To send a mutual factor connection note, review the profile and find a common ground that establishes trust and reliability. Draft the connection note in a way that shows genuineness related to the common ground like a mutual connection or common interest and ask to be connected on the basis of that. This personalized approach increases the chances of connection requests getting accepted quickly.

Collaboration messages 

A collaboration message is sent when you are looking for professional partnership establishments with other people that have a potential benefit for both. Whether you have a product or service to be offered or a project you want to collaborate on with someone, a collaborative note is personalized and a brief context of that collaboration.

It should highlight how the collaboration will benefit the other person which increases the likelihood of a positive response with interest. To write a collaborative message, approach with compliments about their experience or skills and then relate it to how you want to offer a collaboration that will be mutually beneficial. Finally, add an invitation to connect for this purpose.

Prospecting messages

A prospecting message helps identify and connect with potential leads by offering them a glimpse of your product or service. After identifying a person as a prospect, review their profile for any latest update that you may use as a reference in the message, or else just start by complimenting their experience or role at a certain company.

Move ahead by relating it to how your product or service offers value to their professional life or business and end the note with an invitation to connect. This helps to instantly gain prospect interest and they will be compelled to review what you have to offer.

Referral messages

A referral message is sent when you want to connect with someone based on a recommendation or referral via a mutual contact. While writing a referral message, make sure to mention the contact name who referred you as it helps to establish credibility and trust and increases the chances of your connection request getting accepted quickly.

Start by mentioning that referral’s name, and explain the context of why they referred or recommended you to reach out. Finally, end the note with the invitation to connect with reference to the conversation. This way, the recipient will be more inclined to accept your request and continue the conversation.

Appreciation messages

The appreciation message helps to show genuine interest and admiration for someone’s work, skills, achievements, and professional life aspects. To send an appreciation message, keep track of the other person's activities in their career and try to build a connection based on that. Draft the message by complimenting the specific trait you liked, relate it to why you found it admirable or inspiring, and conclude the message request with an invitation to connect and remain within each other’s network. The genuineness of this approach helps to increase the chances of connection requests getting accepted quickly.

Follow-up messages

Follow-up message helps to reconnect with people you have had an interaction with over a meeting, event, or some other social exchange. When sending a follow-up message request, make sure to mention the reference of your prior interaction to remind them. Moreover, this helps to show genuine interest that you want to establish a long-term relationship over LinkedIn. To draft the message, start by referencing the prior interaction, relate it to the common ground and value it holds for both of you and conclude the note with an invitation to remain connected over LinkedIn. This helps to build value-oriented and long-term relationships.

What are the benefits of LinkedIn Connect messages?

The benefits of LinkedIn correct message are personalized interaction, strong relationships, job hunt success, icebreakers, expanded network, expanded network, enhanced collaborations, improved lead generation, better personal branding, and content engagement.

Some of the main benefits of LinkedIn messages are listed below:

• Personalized interaction: A LinkedIn connect message helps to add a personalized factor to your invitation to connection invite rather than a generic request. This helps to build trust and credibility for a long-term positive relationship. Moreover, it shows the respect you have for the other person’s time and expertise.
• Strong relationships: LinkedIn connections built on the basis of a connection message tend to be stronger and more meaningful. It builds an initial rapport and basis for future engagement and interactions while establishing a sense of shared purpose.
• Job hunt success: Reaching out to recruiters or industry professionals with a note about your skills and relevant expertise increases the chances of your job application being accepted. It helps your credibility stand out among the rest and results in increased job interviews and a hidden job market.
• Icebreaker: A connection note is a perfect icebreaker especially if you want to establish engaging relationships. It serves as a conversation starter from where you will take the conversation forward once the connection request is accepted.
• Expanded network: Connection note helps to expand the network within industry experts, prospects, or like-minded people. An interactive connection note opens doors for venue-oriented engagements with the network.
• Enhanced collaborations: LinkedIn connection note helps to build valuable relationships with professionals. This opens doors to fruitful collaboration and partnerships serving as a credible context.
• Improved lead generation: LinkedIn Connect messages help to improve the overall prospecting and lead generation process by establishing trust within your prospects, resulting in more meaningful interactions and closings. Customized messages before connecting instantly develop trust and interest within the prospect's mind.
• Better personal branding: Customized LinkedIn connect messages help to present yourself as a professional with valuable skills, insights, or presence. This increases profile visibility and creates meaningful interactions that generate opportunities.
• Content engagement: Connect messages help to build a trust-based relationship and encourage content engagements and interactions that increase visibility for posts or articles. This helps to build discussions and community.

What are the drawbacks of LinkedIn Connect messages?

The drawbacks of Indian Connect messages are a generic approach, emphasized sales pitch, wasted resources, limited content, negative personal branding, and being time-consuming.

Some of the main drawbacks of LinkedIn Connect messages are listed below:

• Generic approach: When LinkedIn connect messages are generic, they tend to get ignored or declined as they appear to be auto-generated or spam. This increases the chances of missed opportunities and engagement.
• Emphasized sales pitch: Sending a LinkedIn connection message to a prospect with a higher emphasis on the sales pitch is likely to annoy the prospect which will only push them away further. Direct and emphasized sales speeches often result in lost chances of meaningful collaborations.
• Wasted resources: When targeting and sending LinkedIn connection messages to the wrong people or with the wrong approach, it results in wasted time and effort. It damages your professional reputation and credibility as well.
• Limited content: LinkedIn has a limit of up to 300 characters for each LinkedIn Connect message. The limited space is often not enough to convey the message or provide relevant context to the invitation to connect. This increases the chance of the connection message ending up being irrelevant or misleading.
• Negative personal branding: When a LinkedIn Connect message is drafted poorly it results in a negative impression leading to a damaged image of your personal brand and impacting your interactions with the recipients.
• Time-consuming: Sending out personalized connection notes is often time-consuming as it requires research for crafting a context-based meaningful message that grabs attention and does not end up being ignored.

What are the best practices for writing a LinkedIn connect message?

The best practices for writing a LinkedIn Connect message are personalization, giving clear context, keeping it to the point, offering value, using a conversational tone, mentioning a common ground, avoiding a direct sales pitch, maintaining your profile, using different approaches, and proofreading the message.

Some of the best practices for writing a LinkedIn Connect message are listed below:

• Personalization: A personalized connect message is important to show the genuine interest and value that your invite holds. It decreases the likelihood of your message appearing as spam. To draft a personalized message make sure to add the recipient name, skillset, business or job place name, or a shared interest that reflects on a personalized context and avoid the generic spam approach.
• Giving clear context: Keep your intent and context clear while sending a LinkedIn message so that the recipient instantly knows the purpose and does not ignore the message due to vagueness. Whether you are aiming for networking, collaboration, or mutual learning make sure to add a brief context to it rather than trying to explain it all.
• Keep it to the point: LinkedIn connect messages have a limit of 300 characters that you are allowed to use in the connection message. Make sure to use this limit to your benefit rather than wasting it on irrelevant details. Try to cover your main context within these character limits and use a to-the-point and straight approach that aims to grab attention. Once the connection request is accepted, move ahead to explain the context within the direct message.
• Offering value: When sending a LinkedIn message, make sure to show how the connection or your context stands valuable for the recipient. Try mentioning a common ground or collaborative context that could be valuable to their professional journey.
• Using conversational tone: Keep the message conversational yet professional. It should have a balance of formal and informal so that it doesn’t sound too casual yet too rigid. This approach helps to convey a sincere and genuine effort into drafting the connection message and building a professional warm relationship over LinkedIn, paving the way to future interactions and meaningful conversations.
• Mention a common ground: When drafting a LinkedIn connect message try to find a common ground like a mutual contact, reference, shared interests, or professional journeys. This helps to build credibility and rapport while instantly generating recipients' interest in connecting and continuing the conversation forward. To find the common ground, try searching the recipient's profile and activities on LinkedIn to get a better idea.
• Avoiding a direct sales pitch: Prospects tend to ignore the messages that instantly start selling even before connecting. When you’re sending a LinkedIn message to a prospect try to generate interest by focusing on the genuine value your product or service adds to the prospect's life. In the LinkedIn Connect message, avoid mentioning the benefits of your product and service rather talk about a potential collaboration that leads to curiosity into knowing more about it.
• Maintaining your profile: After receiving a connection message from you, the prospect is likely to visit your profile to check before taking any action. Make sure you have a maintained and optimized LinkedIn profile that establishes credibility and trust while offering direct insight into your professional journey and skill set. A strong profile increases the chances of the connection request getting accepted quickly.
• Using different approaches: When sending a LinkedIn connect message try to use different approaches to see which one works best. One shoe doesn’t fit all and it’s better to craft the message based on how you should be approaching the recipient. For example, if you’re reaching a C-executive, try to be more professional and respectful of their time. However, if you are reaching someone within your professional domain, have a balance of formal and informal tone.
• Proofreading the message: When sending out LinkedIn messages, make sure before you hit the send button that you proofread the message to check for any potential errors or gaps. Proofreading helps to refine the message and gives an idea of how the recipient will receive it. For better precision, try to use proofreading tools or extensions like Grammarly to ensure that your message is safe and perfect to send.

What are the common mistakes in writing a LinkedIn Connect message?

The common mistakes in writing a LinkedIn Connect message are generic messages, starting with a direct sales pitch, providing no context, and using an inappropriate tone.

Some of the main common mistakes when writing a LinkedIn Connect message are listed below:

• Generic messages: Sending a generic LinkedIn connect message appears as spam and shows less genuine interest in connecting. This increases the likelihood of the message request being ignored or rejected ultimately. When industry experts are reviewing connection requests, they tend to check the ones that grab attention through personalization. So make sure your LinkedIn connect message has a personalized factor instead of a generic approach.
• Starting with a direct sales pitch: A direct sales pitch is often perceived as bad even when the recipient has a use case for your product or service. A sales pitch is a transactional interaction rather than a nurtured relationship. Make sure to establish a relationship first with the prospect and generate interest which results in a fruitful closing and a long-term relationship with the client.
• Providing no context: One of the main purposes of a LinkedIn connect message is to provide recipients with a context into why you want to connect with them. An irrelevant connection message results in a misleading connection that damages your professional reputation. It eliminates the element of trust.
• Using inappropriate tone: Your LinkedIn Connect message should have a balanced tone that is not too casual and inappropriate as the recipient will create a first impression of you based on it. It also increases the chances of connection requests getting rejected quickly.

What are the tools used to create a LinkedIn connect message?

The tools used to create LinkedIn connect messages are LinkedIn automation tools, AI writing tools, CRMs, research and analytics tools, and design tools.

What are the templates of LinkedIn Connect messages?

The templates of LinkedIn Connect messages are networking messages, follow-up messages, referral messages, job Hunt messages, and collaboration messages.

Some of the main temptations of LinkedIn connect messages are listed below.

• Networking message: "Hi. I recently came across your profile and really liked the work you are doing within (name) industry and I’d love to be a part of your network. Let’s connect!". This template helps to build a network with people you might not know personally and gives a reason to stay connected without any mutual interest.
• Follow-up message: "Hey, it was a pleasure meeting you on (event/meeting date) your insights are valuable and I’d love to keep the conversation going. Let’s stay connected." This template gives context to previous interactions and states an aim to continue it further by staying connected.
• Referral message: "(Mutual contact name) said that you would be the best person to discuss (add topic) this. Looking forward to connecting and exchanging thoughts." This template gives reference to connecting as suggested by a mutual contact while also mentioning the initiation of a conversation.
• Job Hunt message: "Hi, I noticed your role at (company name), and with my (skill name) experience I would love to join your company and add value there. Looking forward to connecting." This template helps to grab recruiters and industry experts attention who will review the profile and offer suggestions based on that.
• Collaboration message: Hi, I really like the work you are doing at (company name). At (company name), we specialize in (add service) and I believe there’s room for potential collaboration. Let’s connect." This template helps to create indirect sales pitches by creating and nurturing a relationship first while also hinting a collaboration.

How does a LinkedIn connection message work?

LinkedIn connect message works as an optional note you can send to introduce yourself or give some reason why you want to connect with the other person.

How can you send a connection request on LinkedIn?

You can send a connection request on LinkedIn by following a series of steps including searching, opening the profile, clicking connect (with or without a note), and sending the request.

Can you send a message to a non-contact on LinkedIn?

Yes, you can send a message to non-contacts on LinkedIn however, this option is available for LinkedIn premium accounts.

Does LinkedIn Sales Navigator personalize connect messages for leads?

No, LinkedIn Sales Navigator does not personalize connect messages for leads however it offers insights like mutual interests, job changes, and mutual contacts.

How does a LinkedIn connect message differ from a connect mail?

A LinkedIn connect message differs from a connect mail as the connect message is short and optional before connecting; however, connect mail is a paid messaging feature available for premium accounts.

What is the difference between messaging and connecting on LinkedIn?

The difference between messaging and connecting on LinkedIn is that messaging involves communication however connecting refers to building a network.

Why do some LinkedIn profiles show message instead of connect?

Some LinkedIn profiles show message instead of connect because you are either already connected with that person or the user has a restricted connection request on their profile.

Can you message a recruiter on LinkedIn after applying?

Yes, you can message a recruiter on LinkedIn after applying by connecting with the recruiter and sending a connect message.

Do you cancel a pending LinkedIn connection request?

Yes, you can cancel a pending LinkedIn connection request however you cannot resend a connection request to that same person for three weeks.

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