Crafting the Perfect LinkedIn Connection Message: Tips, Tricks, & Free Templates!

What is a LinkedIn connection message?

A LinkedIn connection message is essentially an introductory note you send to someone when requesting to connect with them on the platform.

This message is very important to develop your network and increase your sales through LinkedIn.

Looking for ways to expand your network on LinkedIn?

We've written a great post about how to develop your network on LinkedIn. This post contains all our tips, crafted from our own experience as sales experts. Feel free to read it right away to discover everything you need to know about this topic!

Learn how to develop your LinkedIn network

Be careful here though, a LinkedIn connection message is NOT a LinkedIn InMail!

Simply put, it’s that message that pops up right after you click “Connect” on a person’s LinkedIn profile.

It’s your chance to:

• make a good impression
• start a relationship with your leads
• invite them to continue the conversation.

What makes a good connection message on LinkedIn?

Your LinkedIn connection message should be concise, professional, and to the point. As I said, you want to make a good first impression and show that you’re genuinely interested in connecting with this person.

To do so, be sure to include a few key elements:

• Introduce yourself and state why you’re reaching out.
• Reference any shared connections or interests.
• Briefly explain what you do and how you can be of value.
• Thank them for their time, Ask for a response, or suggest a meeting.

By including these elements, your message will come off as thoughtful and well-crafted.

If you really want to stand out, try adding a bit of personalization to the message, even LinkedIn themselves recommends it!

But don’t worry, we’ll get really deep into the best practices and everything you need to know about crafting a LinkedIn connection message shortly.

Do you have to send a connection message when connecting on LinkedIn?

Before we get into the nitty gritty of crafting the perfect LinkedIn connection message, let’s answer this very important question: Do you really have to send a note when connecting with someone on LinkedIn?

Well, the short answer is a definite YES! The long answer is -unsurprisingly: It depends, as it usually does with these kinds of things.

Let’s talk statistics: We, at LaGrowthMachine, ran a test on 9,000 leads who work in Marketing and belong to similar personae and uncovered some interesting insights:

• The acceptance rate for Audience A (no note): 31%
• The acceptance rate for Audience B (note with an honest, albeit salesy, message): 29%
• The acceptance rate for Audience C (note with a vague message): 32%

So you notice that the difference in accepting rates is quite small. But wait, there’s more!

Sure, the acceptance rate is a good metric to follow, but it’s also important to understand the quality of the connections and if you consider them qualified connections or not!

Have you heard back from your contacts? Did you book any calls, meetings, or even closed sales yet? Are there any successful conversions so far?

To evaluate the success of our outbound campaign, we examined the rate of qualified calls booked. And this is where it got interesting:

• Audience A: 3.77% of qualified calls booked.
• Audience B: 6.62% of qualified calls booked.
• Audience C: 5.1% of qualified calls booked.

So sending a message with a note may yield a 2% decrease in your acceptance rate, however, it will almost double the chances of booking qualified calls with your contacts!

Why do you need LinkedIn connection request messages?

Now that we got the basics and your burning questions out of the way, let’s dive into the benefits of sending personalized LinkedIn connection requests:

• It helps to build trust and credibility: Personalizing your messages will make it easier for your prospects to trust you, as they know that you made an effort to reach out specifically to them.
• Add more context: A LinkedIn connection message is helpful when trying to get an introduction to someone through a mutual contact, as it allows you to explain your goal and why you are reaching out in the first place.
• Stand out from the competition: Sending a note is one technique to generate more leads that will definitely make a lasting impression on them. You can see our guide on AIDA copywriting to go further with this!
• Ensure that you get an answer (or not): When sending personalized connection requests, you make it easier for your prospects to understand what you want from them and how they could help you. This will either prompt them to reply back or politely ignore your message.
• Create a sense of mutual benefit: By adding context to your connection request, you can create a sense of mutual benefit. That is to say, how can both parties find something valuable in the connection?

Ultimately, when you work in sales, sending a personalized LinkedIn connection message will act as a sort of pre-segmentation, as you will be able to connect with the right people who most likely want what you have to offer.

What to consider before starting your LinkedIn campaigns?

LinkedIn is the largest professional social media for professionals to connect, so it’s important to be aware of their regulations and best practices when reaching out to users.

If you’re reading this, it probably means that you’re thinking about automating your LinkedIn messaging via tools like LaGrowthMachine.

Be careful though, the platform developed quite an impressive algorithm to detect any suspicious activities.

So before starting your LinkedIn campaigns, you need to consider the following:

Warm up your account:

LinkedIn account warm-up is the process of gradually increasing your activity on LinkedIn to avoid LinkedIn flagging or banning your account.

It’s like easing into a workout routine rather than jumping in all at once.

So, if your account is a few weeks old (or much older, but you barely use it) you’ll have to ramp your daily volume up slowly.

Follow best practices:

Your account is now warmed up, and ready to go!

But, before you start, it’s important to keep in mind the best practices when sending LinkedIn connection requests and messages:

• Always send personalized messages: Customize your message and make sure to tell your prospects why you are reaching out to them.
• Be brief but friendly: Keep it short and to the point, but make sure that your message isn’t too terse or robotic.
• Send messages at an appropriate frequency: Make sure not to bombard your contacts with too many messages. Once every few weeks should be enough.
• Respect users’ preferences: If a user has opted out of receiving connection requests and messages, respect their decision and refrain from sending them anything.

These are just a few, commonsensical tips to keep in mind when sending out LinkedIn connection requests and messages. The rest is up to you, so make sure to be creative and polite!

Remember, the key is to make your prospects feel valued, so be sure to customize your messages and create a sense of mutual benefit.

25 LinkedIn connection message templates from our outreach experts!

Now that we got all that out of the way and you’re familiar with all the do’s and don’ts of LinkedIn messaging, it’s time to dig into what type of messages work best.

To help you out, we compiled a list of tried-and-tested LinkedIn connection message templates!

We divided this into 5 different categories so you can quickly find the right message for your occasion.

The categories are for connecting with:

• Industry experts and/or thought leaders (General Templates)
• A lead
• Someone with whom you have a mutual connection
• A recruiter or an HR person
• A potential candidate

Connecting with industry experts and/or thought leaders:

• Template 1: Hey {{firstname}}, I stumbled upon your profile and was blown away by your work in {{industry}}. Let’s connect and chat about it sometime!
• Template 2: Hey {{firstname}}, loved your recent post on {{topic}}. It’s not often that you find such unique perspectives on LinkedIn. Care to connect and chat more about it?
• Template 3: Hey {{firstname}}, noticed that we both share a passion for {{industry}}. Let’s connect and see how we can collaborate or just share insights!
• Template 4: Hi {{firstname}}, I’m reaching out because I’m interested in learning more about your experience in {{industry}}. Would you be open to connecting?
• Template 5: Hey {{firstname}}, just wanted to connect and learn more about your work in {{industry}}. Let’s grab a virtual coffee sometime!
• Template 6: Hi {{firstname}}, I was impressed by your background and thought it would be valuable to connect and exchange ideas.
• Template 7: Hi {{firstname}}, your experience in {{industry}} caught my eye and I’d love to learn more about your journey. Let’s connect!

✅Why these templates work:

• You mention that you’re in the same industry and are curious about the same topics, so it establishes a common ground.
• You show genuine interest in getting to know the person and potentially forming a collaboration or exchange of ideas.
• There’s no sales pitch involved, so you don’t come across as someone who’s only reaching out to get something out of them.
• You provide a clear call-to-action, so they know exactly what you want from them.

Connecting with a lead:

• Template 8: Hey {{firstname}}, have you tried out our amazing {{product/service}} yet? I bet it could make your life so much easier. Give it a go and when you realize how great it is, let me know – trust me, you won’t regret trying!
• Template 9: Hi {{firstname}}, I saw that we share an interest in {{common interest}} and wanted to connect. I also noticed that you might benefit from our {{product/service}}. Would love to chat more!
• Template 10: Hello {{firstname}}, I couldn’t help but notice your experience in {{industry/field}}. Our {{product/service}} has been really popular with others in your industry, and I’d love to show you why! Let me know!
• Template 11: Hi {{firstname}}, I noticed you’re in the market for {{product/service}}. Our company offers a great solution for that. Want to give it a try and see for yourself? Let me know if you’re interested!
• Template 12: Hey {{firstname}}, I think our {{product/service}} could really help you out. But don’t just take my word for it -Try it out and when you realize you love it, let me know. How does that sound?

✅Why these templates work:

• You show that you are familiar with your leads’ needs, interests, and goals.
• You offer a solution to their problem or an opportunity to try something out and potentially benefit from it.
• The message is direct and to the point, so there’s no room for misunderstanding.
• You provide them with the incentive to take action and respond to your message.

Connecting with someone with whom you have a mutual connection:

• Template 13: Hey there {{firstname}}, I noticed we both know {{mutual connection’s name}} and thought it would be great to connect and expand our networks.
• Template 14: Hi {{firstname}}, I saw that you are connected with {{mutual connection’s name}} and thought it would be great to connect with you as well. Would you be open to connecting?
• Template 15: Hey {{firstname}}, I came across your profile and noticed that we have {{mutual connection’s name}} in common. I would love to connect and learn more about your work in {{industry/field}}.
• Template 16: Hey {{firstname}}, I saw that we both know {{mutual connection’s name}} and thought it would be great to connect and see how we can support each other in {{industry/field}}.
• Template 17: Hi {{firstname}}, I noticed that you and I are both connected with {{mutual connection’s name}} and thought it would be great to connect as well. I’m always looking to expand my network and learn from others in {{industry/field}}.

✅Why these templates work:

• You establish common ground by mentioning that you both have a mutual connection.
• You show genuine interest in forming a connection and potentially collaborating or exchanging ideas.
• There’s an extra level of trust as you already have a shared connection.

Connecting with a recruiter or an HR person:

• Template 18: Hey {{firstname}}, I saw your profile and noticed your experience in recruiting for {{industry}}. I’m a SaaS sales professional with a passion for driving revenue growth. Would love to connect and learn more about potential opportunities.
• Template 19: Hey {{firstname}}, I came across your profile and noticed your background in recruiting for {{industry}}. I’m actively seeking new opportunities in {{field}} and would love to connect and see how I can contribute to your business.
• Template 20: Hi {{firstname}}, I noticed that you specialize in recruiting for {{industry}}, which is exactly what I’m looking for. I’m currently in {{field}} at {{identity.companyName}} but would like to explore other opportunities. Would love to connect and learn more about what you’re currently working on.

✅Why these templates work:

• You make it clear that you’re looking for an opportunity.
• They have a clear understanding of your specialized skillset.
• You show genuine interest in the recipient’s work and offer to learn more about it.
• Even if the recruiter isn’t hiring, they may be able to refer you to someone who is, or even better, they’ll remember you when they have an opening in the future.

Reaching out to a potential candidate:

• Template 21: Hi {{firstname}}, I saw your profile and was impressed by your experience in {{industry}}. Our company is looking for someone with your skills and I was wondering if you would be interested in discussing potential opportunities with us.
• Template 22: Hi {{firstname}}, I came across your profile and noticed that you’re currently working at {{companyName}}. I wanted to reach out and see if you’d be open to exploring other opportunities that may be a better fit for you.
• Template 23: Hey {{firstname}}, I found your profile and was blown away by your work in {{field}}. I think you could be a great fit for a position we have available and I wanted to reach out and see if you’d be interested in learning more.
• Template 24: Hey {{firstname}}, I saw that you’ve been doing amazing work at {{companyName}}! Congrats on your success. I’d love to connect with you and chat about some potential opportunities. If you’re interested, let me know. If not, no worries, it’s always great to expand my network.
• Template 25: Hi {{firstname}}, I came across your profile and was impressed by your accomplishments at {{companyName}}. Keep up the great work! I’m reaching out because I believe there may be a good fit for you at my company, and I’d love to chat more about it.

✅Why these templates work:

• You express your admiration for the recipient’s work and recognize them for their accomplishments.
• You make it clear that you’re reaching out to discuss potential opportunities.
• It’s clear to the recipient that there’s no pressure to accept and they can simply reach out if interested.
• You show genuine interest in the recipient which establishes that you value them as a potential candidate.

Key takeaways

By now, you should have a solid understanding of what a LinkedIn connection message is and why it’s essential for expanding your professional network.

Crafting an effective message can be challenging, but by following our tips and tricks, you can improve your success rate.

Before you send a LinkedIn connection request and start your outreach campaign, consider who you are trying to reach, why they would be interested in connecting, and what unique value you can provide them.

Our sales experts also have 25 awesome LinkedIn connection message templates which can make life easier for reaching out to potential contacts. So make sure to check them out and start connecting with the right people now! 🤝

Happy networking!