The LinkedIn Connection Message: What More to Write?

A LinkedIn connection request may not be as exciting as a Facebook friend request or an Insta follow-or perhaps it is more so. It depends on how you look at it. Your crush sending you connection messages doesn't necessarily mean wedding bells, but it does mean more opportunities. Over 65% of jobs aren't posted online but professionals reach out to their networks to fill these posts.

With LinkedIn, your professional network is growing and that means you may get more views on your LinkedIn profile and there may be a growing number of professionals interested in working with you or at least helping you out in some of your pursuits - current or future roles.

Also Read: How to Write a Cold Email

LinkedIn connections are imperative to professional growth and you should never take them lightly. There may be people who you have no mutual connections with but are great for your professional network on LinkedIn.

In order to get your request accepted and to let the person accepting know what they can reach out to you for, you need to write an introduction note.

This will help your connection understand why you want to connect with them and how this connection can be useful.

Who to write a LinkedIn connection message to

Who should you connect with and how can you find them?

Here are a few ways that you can find people who would be great additions to your LinkedIn network:

• People you already have professional relationships with

• People who have written a LinkedIn article that you like or would like to give further feedback on

• A former colleague

• People with who you share an educational background

• Potential prospects that you can pitch to

• People who you have joined a LinkedIn group with and share some common ground with

• People you met at a professional networking event or you heard speak at a networking event

• People who have shared interests with you

• People who you have had a worthwhile conversation with on other people's posts

• People who are following the same or a similar career path as you

There are numerous reasons for you to send a LinkedIn connection message or Linkedin connection request to someone - and the list is exhaustive and not limited to the above situations.

However, not everyone will accept your LinkedIn connection request. You will have to send a Linkedin connection request message as well that explains why you are reaching out to a particular person.

Tips on how to craft LinkedIn connection request messages:

You need to craft a good message or you can always use a message template and make it work for you. However, there are some protocols that you need to follow.

A few tips to remember:

• Do not begin a connection request with a sales pitch

• Personalized messages always work best - do not send a generic message

• Try to link to valuable resources so your target audience sees you as a great addition to their network and shows a genuine interest in connecting with you

LinkedIn message template:

While all of your LinkedIn connection messages will be tailored to your own situation, here are a few LinkedIn connection message templates. You can use one of these message templates or write a message of your own based on the information found here.

1. Sending someone who you have met or seen at a networking event a connection message

Hello [name],

It was such a pleasure meeting you at [event's name]. I would love to connect so we can maybe bounce ideas off of each other for [company name]'s marketing strategy.

2. Generating leads for the sales team

Hello [name],

I am [name] from [company name] and I see from your LinkedIn profile that you are a [job title]. LinkedIn users get a lot of messages from sales teams trying to sell them something. That's not what I am doing.

I just wanted to reach out to show you a new way to optimize your company's content so you can focus on more important things such as your prospecting strategy. Great optimized content helps in making an excellent first impression and I just thought you should stay up to date with what other professionals are using.

I would love to connect and appreciate it if you accepted my LinkedIn connection request so I can keep passing on important information.

Thanks!

3. Reaching out to people in the same LinkedIn groups

Hello [name], You and I are in [name of group] and I commented on your post recently. I would like to connect and be able to view your regular content. It would be great to be able to exchange ideas and industry best practices.

4. Reaching out to a specific person who you heard speaking at an event

Hello [name],

I am [name] and I attended [event's name] where I heard you speaking about [topic]. I would love to add you to my connections on LinkedIn as we belong to the same industry and I am sure you have a lot of interesting content to share. It would be great speaking to you in person at the next event and perhaps we can coordinate a short chat.

Thanks!

5. Reaching out to mutual degree connections

Hey [name], I recognized you from your profile picture. Even though we have never crossed paths in university, we are from the same batch and have a mutual connection - [name].

Thought I would send you a connection request so that we can remain in touch and up to date on each other's professional progress and share opportunities.

6. Sending a personalized message to random LinkedIn members who appear interesting

Hey [name],

Just thought I would include a short introductory note to my request to connect. I see we have a mutual connection and we do have some common interests pertaining to our industry. I thought it would be interesting to connect. For starters, I thought [group name] would be an interesting group to join.

Not all connection requests will come with a LinkedIn connection message but people who have thousands of connections on their LinkedIn account may filter out LinkedIn connection requests based on the LinkedIn connection message. If it sounds convincing and interesting, your request is likely to be accepted.

As mentioned above, personalized connection requests are best even if you have something in common such as being in the same LinkedIn group. If you are running LinkedIn campaigns and doing LinkedIn outreach for sales, sending a message on LinkedIn as well as sending an email message can be an effective strategy.

Bottom Line

LinkedIn messages are often more exciting than messages you get on other social media platforms because it usually is a work opportunity or something similar. If you are planning to network on LinkedIn, remember to always let the person know why you want to connect with them and how this connection can be beneficial.

You can use a message template above or just take inspiration and craft your own message to connect. We hope the LinkedIn algorithm works in your favor and you find a lot of interesting people to connect with!

Speaking of messages and algorithms, if your emails are not landing in the Inbox, it's because you have not warmed up your email domain and your account is not trusted yet by ESPs (which sounds a lot like why your LinkedIn connection requests aren't getting accepted). GoCustomer can help amp up your email marketing efforts!