3 Proven LinkedIn Connection Requests That Actually Lead to Conversations

Crafting a LinkedIn connection message that actually leads to a conversation is not that hard once you discover an approach that works. But what is working now?

With LinkedIn limiting the number of connection invitations you can send in a week (it's right at 100), every single connection invitation counts!

LinkedIn connection invitations actually COST something to the sender. They're no longer unlimited and abundant.

And that is good news!

As a recipient of an inbound connection invitation, you can now count yourself a bit more "special" -- they're using one of their hundred on you this week.

For those of us doing the sending, it can be tricky to figure out exactly what to say. We don't want to sound spammy, pushy, or god-awful sales-y.

We all want to start off the RIGHT way.

In this episode of Mondays with Mindi, we get into what's working now with LinkedIn connection messages... and what's NOT!

I share with you my step-by-step formula to craft your invitations, show you some examples, and give you benchmarks to tell you IF your connection acceptance rate is good.

If you’re like many of us on LinkedIn, you’re not here to waste time. You want to use LinkedIn to actually build your business, grow your network, get connected with the right people, and have conversations.

It’s just that building a strategic LinkedIn profile takes SO MUCH TIME, and there are really no shortcuts.

Automation was an option for those with higher risk tolerance and who didn’t mind hiring someone to create complex sequences. Using this type of automation has always been a bit risky because LinkedIn is on the hunt for them, often leading to restricted LinkedIn accounts.

Since LinkedIn recently started limiting the number of connections you can send in one week (right around 100 as best we can tell), you can no longer use the “spray and pray” approach in sending your connection invitations.

You’d be wasting those connection invitations - and also getting labeled a spammer by the recipients.

What happens if you send a poorly written connection message...

• The recipient might just ignore the message - not so bad, especially if you withdraw the connection invitation before they see it
• The recipient could actually report that they don’t know you - which means it’s a black mark against your LinkedIn profile
• You may end up getting connected, but what happens next?
• The person will see this connection message for as long as you’re connected.
• Your network might get filled up with people who are never going to do business with you.

...but not to worry, we’re going to get to the bottom of the LinkedIn connection messages and figure out how to send messages that actually resonate with the person on the other end.

That connection message sets the tone for your professional communication - it’s worth paying a little attention to what you say there.

Improve Your Targeting to Improve Your Connection Messages

One common mistake I see a number of people make is not at all related to the actual text in the connection invitation message.

It’s their targeting.

If you’re not being thoughtful about identifying the right people from the get-go, it doesn’t matter HOW good your connection message is IF they’re not the right person for the message.

Far too often when I’m helping my students troubleshoot, it’s not just the connection message that needs a bit of work - rather it’s matching what they’re sending to the person they’re reaching out to.

For example, one of my clients had heard that having a podcast and inviting people to be on that podcast was the best way to get people to accept his connection message.

He was excited about setting up the podcast, the tech behind the scenes, all the branding for the show. I then asked him about his target audience and whom he was trying to reach.

Come to find out, they were C-Suite executives at large, stuffy corporations - with lots of red tape. Not at ALL a fit for being on a podcast.

He’d have benefitted from knowing his target audience a bit more (especially since they’re a new market) and understanding what they WILL or WILL NOT respond to.

Always match your connection invitation to the person to whom you’re sending.

Don’t try to copy your colleague’s magical connection invitation if you don’t have a similar audience.

100 New Business Opportunities Per Week

Your connection invitation is all about connecting with people, real people - not just avatars. There is someone on the other end of that connection invitation. 

As I advocate for every single LinkedIn interaction, pay attention to every LinkedIn connection message you send. 

You never know what door it might open or what opportunities you could completely miss… because your connection message felt automated, spammy, or irrelevant. 

If you’re like many of my students and clients who are using LinkedIn for Business, you value every single connection invitation that you send.

You want to do it right, but you need your efforts to be somewhat scalable.

There is a way to craft connection invitations that feels good to the recipient without you having to go back to the drawing board every single time, trying to think up something to write.

You have 100 opportunities every single week on LinkedIn to open a door for your business, your career, your project, your driving purpose.

How are you going to use your 100?

I don’t know about you, but I look at each new week as an opportunity to meet new people, collaborate and share ideas, and look for synergy.

I value the connection invitations that I send -- if you’ve received one from me, know that I care and specifically chose to send that message TO YOU.

Because I approach LinkedIn with this mindset, the results I get from investing in LinkedIn have become the main driver of my sales pipeline.

I’m not on LinkedIn to hard sell anyone. I am here to be a resource, to help where I can, and to connect with good people.

I challenge you to approach LinkedIn with this mindset, it’s the mindset behind the tactics that is the magic.

3 Proven Connection Invitation Formulas

You have 300 characters available to you to send a LinkedIn connection message. No links allowed. No graphics. Just text.

Even if you’re not a great copywriter, you are a human who does business, right? You write emails, send messages to colleagues, comment on other people’s posts… with all that writing experience, you have all the skills you need to draft a LinkedIn connection message.

The connection requests we are getting into today are going to be a bit more on the prospecting side of the spectrum, as we want to get into conversations!

We are going into this with a prospecting mindset - even if they don’t buy from us or become a referral partner - it’s about getting a conversation that leads to potentially doing business together.

#1 - Invite them to a podcast.  

If you’re wondering what’s working right now, I’m going to share a BIG secret with you. For a lot of people in the marketing, sales, consultant space - inviting your potential prospects to be interviewed on a podcast is working REALLY well.

Why is that? Podcasts are trendy. 

People know that if they’re the guest on your podcast, it will lead to marketing of themselves and their company by you. Instant cross-promotion.

The key here is that your podcast focus and “pitch” needs to feel authentic. If they’re second guessing WHY you invited THEM to be on the show, you’ve already lost them.

Here's an example of a podcast invitation:

I’m talking with CMO’s and thought leaders and think you may be interested in my new podcast/research project that proves brands with genuine empathy in their messaging, CX, and EX are winning right now. Let’s chat?

This connection message was highly targeted and led to about a half dozen calls being booked per month as a result of the outreach. And, we only sent less than 100 connection invitations.

That’s a pretty good conversion rate for cold outreach.

If you’re up for doing a podcast, this is a great option to use to start having initial conversations with your potential prospects.

One word of caution - don’t send too many of these, especially if your target audience LOVES to talk about themselves! One of my clients paused any new outreach for 3 months because he got backed up with podcasts due to this technique working so well. Pace yourself.

#2 - Contribute Their Insights. 

What do you do if you don’t want to start a podcast or if you know your potential prospects wouldn’t want to be a guest?

If your audience is pretty savvy in their area of expertise, you can still ask them to contribute but to share their expertise a bit more discreetly.

A number of my clients and students are either writing a book, creating blogs, publishing regularly, and are looking to speak with experts in the field who are open to contributing.

This type of connection invitation works especially well for authors who are publishing a book or digital course creators or specialists who are writing on specific topics.

Here's an example of asking for a book contribution - 

I’m a leadership “cultivator" and author in the cannabis business. I’m working on a book for cannabis leaders. Can you do a quick Zoom interview with me for my book? 

First of all, he’s got a great target market. Cannabis leaders have not been pitched to on LinkedIn incessantly, like a number of other types of audiences.

Next, he’s writing on a topic that is immediately meaningful to them because “cannabis leadership” in general is a completely new thing. They are all looking for resources on how to lead a cannabis business better - because it’s different than every other standard business out there.

And, is it a wonder that this connection message converts like gangbusters? More than a dozen calls per month for sending right around 100-120 connection invitations total.

#3 - Let’s explore synergy. 

So you don’t have a podcast or a book, what else can you send to people who might be great prospects or want to do business with you in some way? 

I like this option because it’s less of an ask, as long as the person on the other end is a bit more open-ended with their calendar and schedule. 

Won’t work that well with corporations or large organizations, but it can be just the opener for those with an entrepreneurial background or attitude. You know, those who are always looking for a new opportunity.

Here’s an example from reaching out to someone interesting who commented on a post:

Hey Jane! I noticed you just commented on that article by John Smith about what’s driving us all crazy about business growth. I’d agree with [your point]. Up for a quick chat sometime? I think there may be some synergy with our businesses.

This is definitely not meant to be a copy-and-paste template. It’s just to give you an idea of what you could say and more about the mindset of “showing you’ve done your homework” before reaching out.

If the person is actually active on LinkedIn, it’s a lot easier to find an opening to connect. This is one approach I use whenever I come across someone who seems wicked smart and like a good referral partner. It also works just as well for prospects.

Basically, you just need to be human! How do you like being reached out to? 

TIP: Save good connection invitation messages you receive and repurpose them to use for yourself.

I’ve received some really clever messages over the years, and I save them in a swipe file for easy reference later.

What Connection Acceptance Rate is Good?

You may be wondering about what a good connection acceptance rate is. How do you know if you're doing well?

Shoot for a 25-35% connection acceptance rate when reaching out to prospective clients. Anything above that, you’ve definitely got a winner!

If you’re consistently hitting around 10% or single digits, you’ll need to find a more responsive target audience and/or change up your message approach.

———

One more thing... before you start sending all these connection messages, make sure to optimize your LinkedIn profile to increase your chances of getting that connection invitation accepted.

I just released a free three-part mini-training How to Reboot Your LinkedIn Profile to Grow Your Online Business to help!

It’s jam-packed with templates and examples and a step-by-step approach to optimizing your headline, the two most important parts of your About section to get more inbound connections and build your list, along with what to do with your Experience sections!

Click HERE to get instant access!