Key Takeaways
- LinkedIn InMails allow you to message non-connections and have higher response rates than regular emails.
- To compose effective LinkedIn InMails, send them during weekday mornings and keep them under 100 words.
- Personalize your InMails by avoiding templates and mentioning commonalities with the recipient.
- Include specific details in your InMails and include a clear call to action to improve response rates.
- Remember, the goal of LinkedIn InMails is to start a conversation, so approach each message thoughtfully.
It is important to make sure that you set yourself up for success on social media, especially if you are using LinkedIn and LinkedIn InMail.
Will Rogers, American actor, performer and humorist
What is a LinkedIn InMail?
LinkedIn InMail is a private email message that enables you to reach other LinkedIn members you are not connected to or you don’t have an introduction to. This message is for your 2nd- and 3rd-degree connections.
You must upgrade to a LinkedIn Premium account to use InMail.
When you upgrade, you receive a set number of InMail credits from LinkedIn based on your premium subscription type.
Why use LinkedIn InMails?
LinkedIn InMail response rates are three times higher than regular email.
It is your secret weapon to success. Use it to contact people you are not connected with on LinkedIn. These are people you want to get to know. It helps you spark that conversation with someone new.
- What are the best ways to write InMails to get an immediate reply?
- What are some pointers on how to send LinkedIn messages that people will read?
- How do you improve your response rate and write better InMails?
10 tips for composing successful LinkedIn InMails
Here are some tips to help you write a reply-worthy LinkedIn InMail.
1. Send LinkedIn InMails at the right time (hint: Weekday mornings and never on Saturday)
LinkedIn data shows that an InMail sent between 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on weekdays get the highest response rate.
The data also says that LinkedIn InMails sent on Saturday are 16 percent less likely to get a response.
Tip: Send your InMail first thing in the morning and not on the weekends.
2. Find out if the recipient follows your company on LinkedIn or knows someone at your company
People follow a company on LinkedIn for several reasons. They admire the company. They like the content the company shares. They also value the company’s perspectives.
Also, LinkedIn members who follow your company on LinkedIn are 95 percent more likely to accept your InMail and 81 percent more likely to respond to it.
And they are 46 percent more likely to accept an InMail if they are connected to someone who works at your company.
This data underscores that people connected to your company are interested in hearing from someone there. This includes those who follow your company on LinkedIn.
Tip: See if the recipient is following your company or knows someone at your company.
3. Keep your LinkedIn InMails short
It is very important to keep your InMail to under 100 words.
InMail messages are only allowed 200 characters in the subject line. The body of the InMail can hold up to 2,000 characters. Therefore, every word counts.
People who keep InMails under 100 words achieve 50 percent higher response rates.
Tip: Shorter InMails are better.
4. Make your subject line count
Make subject lines snappy but short. Keep the subject line within 4 to 5 words. Only 25 to 30 characters will fit in the subject line on mobile.
Mention something about that person in the subject line, possibly even their name (but spell it right).
The subject line of your InMail is the very first impression that people will see. Make sure you review the InMail keepers, sleepers, and beepers to avoid making a bad impression.
Tip: Write a couple different subject lines and use a tool like CoSchedule Headline Analyzer.
5. Avoid templates and make a personal connection
Don’t use canned templates. They are 15 percent less effective.
However, you can customize templates.
Emphasize the connection between you two.
Choose words that reflect your personal voice.
Use terms like “talk,” “chat” or “call” to improve your response rates so that it feels to the recipient like this is a business conversation, not a sales pitch.
People like to buy, not be sold to.
Remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking website for business people to connect.
Tip: Avoid using “I” in the InMail so you focus on words that your recipient wants to hear not what you want.
6. Point out your commonalities and show the recipient you did your homework
Rise above the crappy LinkedIn InMails that your recipients may be getting and prove to them that you did your homework.
For example, if you are in the same LinkedIn Group as the person who you are sending an InMail to, you are 21 percent more likely to get a response.
If the recipient knows one of your senior executives at your company, show them that you know that and you can make an introduction to them. They may have lost touch.
Tip: Make sure you review the person’s profile, see how you are connected, what LinkedIn Groups they are in, what companies they follow, what they have been endorsed for and what content they share.
7. Don’t send a lot of LinkedIn InMails
When you get a certain allotment of InMails, it may seem like any other messages on social media or emails you send via Outlook or Gmail.
However, it is different on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn InMails are scarce by design and being a member of LinkedIn provides the “context” for the InMail. LinkedIn only allows you to have a limited amount of them so the recipients take the messages more seriously and they were hand-selected to get the LinkedIn InMail. The sender will be more thoughtful in using LinkedIn InMails, as they have only so many to use.
Tip: Concentrate on only sending 1 or 2 InMails a day. You don’t have a lot of them so make each one count.
8. Offer details
Your recipients are busy and can be turned off by long, time-consuming LinkedIn InMails and asks within the InMails.
Propose some days/times that work. Offer to connect on LinkedIn if they are open to it. You can also schedule an in-person meeting. Introduce yourself and tell them why are you sending this InMail.
Provide brief, clear details about your company if they don’t know it, or explain why you are contacting them.
Tip: Provide the “why” in the LinkedIn InMail and make your elevator pitch short and to the point. Give them context for why are you reaching out.
9. Bring out their curiosity so they want to learn more
You should prompt them to think or gently tease them. Spark their curiosity and encourage them to learn more. It is a fine line, but it is critical to your success on InMail.
You need to be credible but mysterious.
You need to show them that you did your home, you know their fears, pains, and gains (aka how people buy).
Tip: Show them that you can help them but they need to contact you to learn more.
10. Invite them so they say “yes” or “no” to something you propose
Think about how you use email. How do you get a response? You have a clear call to action.
Honoring the recipient’s time is key to getting a quick response. You can use a line like “in the interest of your time, let’s decide if there is a conversation for us to have…”
It is okay to get right to it, as you both don’t have much time.
Tip: Give them a reason to escape their “regular email” and respond via LinkedIn InMail.
The point of a LinkedIn InMail is to start a conversation
A LinkedIn InMail is a wonderful way to send an email to anyone on LinkedIn, whether they are in your network or not.
But don’t abuse LinkedIn InMail. Make sure you do your homework before sending an InMail. There is no recall InMail feature on LinkedIn as you have in Microsoft Outlook.
It is tough to recover from a bad first impression.
Join my email newsletter for a free eBook and more helpful insights.
You must be logged in to post a comment.