LinkedIn InMail: How Does It Work and Best Practices

What is LinkedIn InMail?

LinkedIn InMail is a message that you can send to another LinkedIn member who you are not connected with. The recipient will get it in the form of an email notification as well as in their LinkedIn inbox.

InMails are a paid feature on LinkedIn. You can purchase credits in packages of 10, 20, or 40. Each InMail that you send will use up one credit.

Depending on the subscription you have selected, here are the monthly limits set by LinkedIn, based on the type of premium account you have selected.

• Premium Career: 5
• Premium Business: 15
• Sales Navigator: 20
• Recruiter Lite: 30
• Sales Navigator Teams: 30
• Sales Navigator Enterprise: 50
• Recruiter Professional: 100
• Recruiter Corporate: 150

What is the purpose of LinkedIn InMail?

LinkedIn InMail can be a great way to connect with someone with who you wouldn’t be able to connect otherwise.

For example, let’s say you want to get in touch with the CEO of a company that you’re interested in working for. You’re not connected with them on LinkedIn, and you don’t know anyone who is.

You could send them an InMail and hope that they respond. The chances are pretty slim, but it’s worth a shot!

If you are looking to contact people who fit your buyer persona(s) and get a response in a short period of time, InMail is the solution for you. Here are some other advantages:

• The ability to contact anyone: With InMails, you can send a direct message to all LinkedIn users in the network. You can reach a 3rd level recipient (no common relationship) without going through a prior connection request.
• A more efficient tool than a classic email: An InMail allows you to precisely target a lead and improve your visibility. According to LinkedIn, an InMail is 2.6x more effective than an email or a phone call.
• Access to the statistics of your InMails: by monitoring the effectiveness of the messages sent, you can optimize the content. We will detail how to do this in the next paragraph.
• InMail rewards credits: you receive a return InMail credit for each message sent that is answered within 90 days.

Although InMail has many advantages, LaGrowthMachine offers a slightly different system.

Within the tool, you have the ability to send a message in two steps. In the first step, you simply visit your lead’s profile, which prompts them.

In the second step, you will send them an invitation to join the network with or without a note.

Finally, you can send him a message and all the necessary follow-ups in direct messages.

This approach is much more personal and gets much better results, not to mention that you can automate it and replicate it on a large scale in just a few clicks!

The limitations of an InMail

Though it can really benefit you and your sales process, LinkedIn InMail also has some drawbacks that you should be aware of:

• An Exorbitant price: The first and most obvious disadvantage is that sending an InMail is not cheap. You have to pay for each message sent, which can quickly become costly.
• The monthly limits: In order to prevent abuse and misuse of this feature, LinkedIn has set a limit on the number of InMails that users can send per month.
• No guarantees: As with any cold contact, there is no guarantee that the person you are trying to reach will actually see or respond to your InMail. The success of an InMail also depends on the quality of your message and your ability to interest the recipient.
• Lack of credibility: LinkedIn users have reported that InMail is not as effective as it used to be, with a response rate that has been halved in recent years. In addition, LinkedIn’s spam filters are not very effective and a lot of InMail messages end up in the recipient’s spam folder.
• The lack of reaction: This goes with the points we went over earlier. LinkedIn InMail is not a magic solution that will guarantee you a response from your contacts.

Now that we’ve gone over all the ins and outs of LinkedIn InMail, let’s take a look at how you can use it to your advantage.

How to write a good LinkedIn InMail

As we’ve mentioned earlier, one of the main reasons why InMail is not as effective as it used to be is because a lot of InMail messages can end up in the recipient’s spam folder.

To avoid this, you need to make sure that your InMail messages are well-written and tailored to the recipient. Here are some tips on how to do this:

• Keep it short and sweet: When it comes to InMail messages, less is definitely more. The message should be concise and to the point. LinkedIn recommends keeping your InMails under 200 words.

• Personalize your message: Take the time to personalize your message for each recipient. This means that you should avoid using generic phrases or template messages.
• Use a catchy subject line: Your InMail’s subject line is just as important as the email subject line. You need to make sure that it’s interesting enough to make the recipient want to read your message.
• Make sure your profile is up to date: This may seem irrelevant, but it’s actually very important. Since your InMail is essentially an extension of your profile, make sure that it’s accurate and up to date.

We at LaGrowthMachine recommend that you keep it simple and straightforward on this sort of channel, where the approach is much simpler than by email, for instance.

That said, we will keep repeating this: for best results, it is best to opt for a multi-channel approach, such as the sequence below:

How NOT to write a LinkedIn InMail

Stop! Before you start writing your InMail message, there are a few things you should avoid doing if you want to increase your chances of getting a response.

Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when writing InMail messages:

• Not personalizing the message: This is one of the most common mistakes people make when writing InMail messages. It’s also one of the most important things to avoid.
• Not proofreading the message: Before you hit send, make sure to proofread your InMail message. This will help you avoid any embarrassing typos or grammatical errors.
• Sending too many InMails: If you’re sending too many InMail messages, you’re likely to be perceived as spammy. This will only hurt your chances of getting a response.
• Not following up: If you don’t hear back from the recipient, don’t be afraid to follow up. This shows that you’re interested in the conversation and that you’re not going to give up easily.
• Giving up too soon: On the other hand, you don’t want to come across as desperate. If you don’t hear back from the recipient after a few follow-up messages, it’s probably time to move on.

This advice is very similar to our advice on how to write a good sales email. Make sure to check it out if you’re interested in learning more.

LinkedIn is watching you. If you send the same message to a few people, that’s somewhat fine.

But if you expand the InMail to a larger scale (several hundred people), LinkedIn will notice and potentially categorize you as a spammer.

You will then become a target for the B2B social network’s algorithm that will do all it can to reduce your visibility.

There is no worse outcome for your sales prospecting.

Here again, the ultra-customization of our tool thanks to our variable system proves to be extremely useful!

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s move on to the part you’ve been waiting for…

LinkedIn InMail templates that actually work

If you’re still not sure how to compose your InMail message, we’ve got you covered!

We’ve put together a few LinkedIn InMail templates that you can use to get started.

Keep in mind that these are only meant to be a starting point. You’ll need to customize them to fit your specific needs.

1. The “I’m a big fan” InMail template

2. The “I have something to offer” InMail template

3. The “I’m curious” InMail template

Final thoughts

That’s pretty much it!

We hope this article has given you a better understanding of LinkedIn InMail and how to use it effectively.

If you’re looking to improve your InMail response rate, make sure to avoid the common mistakes we listed above. And if you’re still having trouble composing your message, feel free to use one of the templates we provided.

Do you have any other tips for writing InMail messages? Share them in the comments below!

Happy messaging!