Every month over 2 billion connection requests are being sent on LinkedIn.

However, sending a blank connection is what really slows down acceptance rates.

Writing a LinkedIn Connect message will make you stand out, connect with your leads, and ultimately, close more deals.

Here’s how to send a LinkedIn connect message that gets results!

This article will cover advice and templates about LinkedIn connect messages for sales, marketing, growth, and anyone who’d like to start a LinkedIn strategy.

We’ll see:

  • The essentials to sending LinkedIn connection messages
  • How to write a LinkedIn connection request
  • Concrete examples and templates of LinkedIn connection

Since a social network aims to create relationships and engage with people,we’ll see how to ask someone to connect on LinkedIn.

Let’s draw the whole process and start with the basic parameters. When it’s ready, we’ll go into more detail with templates and examples.

Let’s dig right in.

Step 1: Optimize your LinkedIn profile

The first thing that people see when you send a LinkedIn connection request is:

  1. your photo
  2. your name
  3. your summary

    This builds trust. Therefore, focus on optimizing these components.

If you need help crafting your LinkedIn headline, you can try out Taplio’s free headline generator.

Step 2: Decide who to reach out to

Connecting with everyone you spot on LinkedIn is time-consuming and completely fruitless.

So narrowing down your connections with a well-defined search strategy will be crucial.

Using a basic search on LinkedIn is not enough. You should go beyond that, for example, with the boolean search:

  • OR (e.g., Growth OR Sales)
  • AND (e.g., Growth AND Content)
  • NOT (e.g., Growth NOT Sales)
  • Type under quote marks (e.g. ****”VP of Growth”)

Or Sales Navigator search.

To scrap your new leads’ contact information and add them to a campaign with LinkedIn connection requests, you can use the lemlist Chrome extension:

Step 3: How to send a connection request

You’ve successfully identified with whom you want to connect on LinkedIn, and your profile is all set up. So, how can you message someone who is not a connection?

1. Go to their LinkedIn profile.

2. Click the Connect button. 

3. Select Add a note

4. Once you write the message, click Send.

Your message has to be short (limited to 200 characters), so you should choose the words you’ll use and your tone.

7 LinkedIn connection request message templates

There is no right or wrong way to proceed down this road. Sometimes, sending a simple invite with no message can be sufficient to connect with someone.

But if you want to contextualize and start a conversation, you probably want to add an intro message

I’m sure you’ll have that “That’s the message I have to send to Bob” moment when you see these LinkedIn connection request message templates.

1. Search-based LinkedIn connect message in B2B

Since LinkedIn is for professionals, everyone puts their title, experience, location, the company they work at, and so on.

You can find the perfect audience to connect with by just using this already available data.

We’ve tested many strategies, but this simple strategy goes a long way:

Hiya, {firstName}!
I’m a huge fan of your work at {companyName}.
I’ve been following since {event} and I would love to connect.

This template offers a 70-75% acceptance rate on average.

2. Connection request to LinkedIn business group members

How to connect on LinkedIn based on common interests?

You can also find your target audience by checking what’s going on in various communities.

For example, your chances of getting a meaningful connection with someone from a LinkedIn group that you’re both a member of are way higher.

Hey, {firstName}!
I saw you on {groupName} and loved your take on {topic}.
I’d love to discuss it further.

This template has proved to offer an 87% acceptance rate.

3. Connect on LinkedIn with FB sales group members

It is the same tactic as before, but now with Facebook groups.

Hiya, {firstName}!
We’re in the same {groupName} group on FB 🙂
Wanted to connect!

Results are pretty similar, ranging from 70-80% acceptance rate.

4. LinkedIn connection message example for milestones

If you’re in sales and are using LinkedIn for sales prospecting, keeping updates on your leads and their companies is usually a good idea.

You can leverage their recent milestones and congratulate them by staying in sync with the news.

Hey, {firstName},
Congrats on your {achievement}!
Wanted to connect and follow your next moves and trade experiences.

5. Connection request messages to people who engaged on your LinkedIn posts

The success of LinkedIn lead generation lies primarily in timing.

If someone has recently engaged with your posts on LinkedIn, that’s the best moment to reach out to them.

  • They’ve just found you
  • There’s a topic you can talk about
  • You’re fresh in their minds and interested in what you have to say

Hey, {firstName}!
Thanks for your comment on my post about {topic}.
I totally agree and would love to hear more of your insights.

The acceptance rate for this template ranges from 85-90%.

6. Recruiting on LinkedIn [connect with top talent]

It might be a reference to their summary or work experience. For example, “Saw you’ve reached 100k organic views in 6 months”.

And use it as a variable in your connection campaign:

“Hey, big fan of your work.
I’ve checked your last achievement shared on LinkedIn and I was quite impressed!
We have a position at lemlist that you might fit into perfectly.

Would you be open to hearing more about it?”

This is a message a lot of you can relate to if you’re active on LinkedIn. And there are many great job opportunities available too, as well as top talents looking for their next gig.

7. Multi-channel cold email outreach strategy

Sometimes, people won’t accept your invitation or answer your message. But you have a second chance!

You could always try another channel to reach out to them. An email follow-up can be a good idea if you have a professional intent.

In any case, it’s always better to make it as personal as possible, so personalized images could be a great way to proceed!

For example, this campaign got 9 new meetings.

Making it possible to import leads directly to your campaign from LinkedIn and automate your LinkedIn and cold email outreach

Once you’ve connected with your prospects, don’t forget to engage further. Try out our LinkedIn Personalized Voice Messages and stay ahead of the pack!

Key takeaways

☑️ Now you’re ready to go with your perfect LinkedIn connect message on the road to success

☑️ Keep in mind that the best messages are personalized ones, created from our authentic experiences.

☑️ Remember to A/B test when you hesitate. Your audience will help you understand what works best.

‍If you want to know more, you can check our LinkedIn prospecting guide or learn how to do generate LinkedIn leads.

lemlist team

Your source of actionable outreach tips and strategies that will help you get replies and grow your business.