Cold Emailing - Spamming or a Service?

Just because you can do it, doesn't mean it’s right or you should.

LinkedIn members can choose whether or not to make their email addresses publicly available.???

For some people, it is tempting to scrape emails in bulk and send you spammy emails using automation.

You can always tell because they are generally plain text. So, there is no fancy email signature, and they are often missing the legally required’ unsubscribe’ button.

Should you cold email people from LinkedIn?

I don't mind being emailed.? But I do mind being spammed. ?And I expect you do too.

Often, the problem with companies that download email addresses and then email people in bulk is that they don't clean the email list to ensure the people they are emailing are appropriate to the campaign they are running. They work solely because it's a ‘numbers game’.??

Personally, I am into nurturing personal relationships.??

I stand for being authentic and having integrity.

I have never cold-emailed anyone and certainly not mass emailed people.

Email addresses can be publicly accessible to varying degrees -

?? only to first-degree connections

?? to first and second-degree connections

?? or to all LinkedIn users.??

We each choose the level of privacy/access we wish to give.

If you are going to send cold emails, it should be highly relevant. I find it really irritating to get irrelevant, boring, salesy emails offering me no value at all. I receive emails (and DM’s) from people offering me LinkedIn advice and training! Obviously, they haven't read my profile!

Please don’t add people to your email subscription list. I suggest sending one email and asking if they wish to subscribe. Or you could offer free, valuable resources via an opt-in page to gain permission to add them to your email list. Much more ethical!

What do you think about this from an ethical standpoint?

What are the rules for using LinkedIn members' email addresses?

?? You can send commercial emails to people who have publicly published their work-related email addresses.

?? Your email message must clearly identify your business name and how to contact you.

?? If you're using deemed consent, the content you send must relate to the person's business.?

“Deemed consent is an individual voluntarily providing the personal data to an organisation for a purpose and it is reasonable that the individual would do so.” This would apply to email addresses gained from LinkedIn. You can set your preferences for visibility of your email address. For more detailed information on consent, read this https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/lawful-basis/consent/

?? You must provide a way for people to unsubscribe from your messages.

Where can you find people's email addresses?

There are various options.

1. Check out the LinkedIn profile's ‘Contact Info’ section.
2. Look through their LinkedIn profile's About section.
3. Use a LinkedIn email finder Chrome extension, like Wiza (Note: I haven't ever used any email finder software so I cannot recommend one over another. Just Google email finder and choose)
4. Export all of your LinkedIn 1st connection data, using this link.
5. You will only see the email address of anyone who has made it public.

An alternative to cold emailing (but be aware of the limits on LinkedIn)

You can start a relationship by:-

?? Commenting on their content on LinkedIn and other social media

?? Sending a connection request and starting a relationship?

?? Messaging via the InBox

?? Using InMails to send messages to people whom you aren't connected with, as long as you have a (paid for) premium account.? Personally, I am not a fan of InMails as 95% of messages sent by InMail are spammy sales emails.

The LinkedIn limits are:-

Connections requests - 100 – 200 per week

InBox messages - 150 per day

InMails - 25 per day

Open InMails - 200 per week

Message requests - 400 per week

LinkedIn Profile visits - 80 per day (150 for Premium users)

Sales Navigator Profile visits - 1000 per day

Note: Only paid LinkedIn subscribers can send InMails. Anyone can send an Open InMail to members with their profile set to Open.

A LinkedIn message request allows you to communicate with someone you aren’t connected with. You can send a message request to people you work with Members who are #OpenToWork, event attendees and Group members.

Setting your own email address visibility on LinkedIn

There are various options for setting your own email address visibility.

Seen by….

1. Only you
2. 1st connections only
3. 1st and 2nd degree connections
4. Anyone on LinkedIn

Simply go to https://www.dhirubhai.net/mypreferences/d/settings/email-address-visibility ?and set your preferences.

Why I believe cold emailing and InMails don’t work, and what would be better

I rarely read unsolicited emails that appear in my InBox. I block the person immediately and delete.

I also do not like InMails or sponsored messages in my LinkedIn InBox.

The reason is that they are rarely relevant to me. And the reason for that is that people do not approach this type of promotion from a strategic standpoint.??

Plus, they are hell-bent on selling me something out of the gate.? They obviously don't know anything about me or my business. How successful can these campaigns be?? Not very, I’m guessing.

The best marketing campaign is one that is highly targeted to a narrow market, addressing one challenge you know they have. Not a ‘spray and pray’ approach.

Be patient and make your play for a lead in stages. After all, you wouldn't approach someone at a networking event and ask them to buy your product or services, so why do people think this will work via the InBox??

If you want to try cold emailing, then create a series of smaller campaigns, each with a specific, focused audience with a specific challenge. Then, create an email that has a highly targeted message. This will work so much better.

I would love to hear your opinions on this and any experiences you have had with cold emails or InMails. Share in the comments.

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