LinkedIn is basically Business Tinder, without the potential one-night stand.

They say the line between being creepy and being flirty is whether they find you attractive. If you're ugly, I'm sorry. You'll be forever labelled creepy by everyone to whom you send DM's.

Or will you?

Of course you won't because one day, you'll find someone who appreciates your message because you're just what they are looking for. All you need to do is find that person. Some will say it's like kissing frogs to find a prince, others will be of the opinion of only talking to people in your league.

If you haven't already realised, messaging people on LinkedIn is very similar to dating apps. Stressing about starting the conversation, do you make a joke, say a flirty (remember, we're all attractive to someone) comment, the fear of being left on read...

The difference is you're not looking to jump into bed with people here and get naked (if you are, then you need to take a long look in the mirror and stop being a pervert. Just saying). What you're looking to do is get business.

Yet with everyone saying that you shouldn't cold pitch in the DM's (including me), how do you actually use messaging to get business?

You get creative.

Before we get into that, I need you to answer this: what is the ultimate point of that first message?

If you said anything other than "to start a conversation", you're wrong. Sorry. It's literally that. You want a response. Doesn't matter if it's positive or negative.

Now, the best way to give you a chance of a reply is to only message your Ideal Client (IC). If you have no idea who that is, go read this.

For example, would I expect a response from the MD of a Social Media Agency? No. Because although they would probably fit my target market, they aren't my ideal client.

If I message a business owner who posts daily, but the content needs some work so they probably aren't getting new leads, and they are pitch slapping in the DM's, am I more likely to get a reply? Yes.

So, we now have our golden rule that we only DM our IC.

Outside of that, there are 3 scenarios where they give us a solid reason to DM them:

1. They view your profile
2. They talk about the problem you solve
3. You've connected with them

I can hear you already screaming that I'm contradicting myself by saying message when you connect. But I'm not so pipe down.

Let's start with that one though as it's usually the most controversial.

Once someone connects, you can do one of 3 things: ignore them and live your life, pitch slap, or add value.

I always like to add value. And so should you. You'll likely have something you've created that is full of tips and tricks to help them with the problem you solve.

I have a content creation guide, newsletters like this and some blogs. I tailor what I send to the person.

Whatever you have, now is the time to use it. And I'll send something like:

Thanks fname, appreciate you connecting. As promised, no sales pitch from me, just a giveaway that you may find useful that'll help you do X

That's it. no big push. Let your content do the work here. If it's good enough, and they've been thinking of the problem often recently, they will start a conversation with you.

If they don't, all is not lost. There's a way to continue the messages which I'll touch on later.

The other two are pretty self-explanatory, but in case you're having a "my brain isn't working day", here's how you do it...

If someone views your profile, message them! A quick "hey, noticed you viewed my profile. Were you looking for anything in particular or is there anything I can help with" will generally get a reply. Sometimes they'll come straight out with I need help, others will tell you that it was a mistake like this guy:

Either way, you may just give someone the nudge to become a client.

Then you have those that post about the problem you solve. If they are openly talking about it being a problem, send a version of this message:

Hey fname, saw your post about X.

Here's something that may help INSERT LINK TO CONTENT.

PROBLEM is something that I work with people to solve, so if you wanted to explore how to INSERT RESULT YOU OFFER

Hope the NAME OF LINK helps

Your name.

So, for me, that looks like this:

Hey Steve, saw your post about your enquiries being from the wrong people.

Here's something that may help: Telling The Ugly Step-Sisters To Go Away | LinkedIn. It's an article I wrote about how to create content for your ideal client

Creating content for your ideal client is something that I do for all of my clients, so if you want to explore how I could help you attract the people you want to work with, let me know and we'll book a discovery call.

Hope the article helps!

Adam

I'm doing two things here: one, giving something of value that also shows I'm an expert and two, giving a soft pitch.

If you've got time, you can skip the pitch in this message and follow up after a couple of days asking how they found the article and ask if there's anything else you can do to help. If they have questions, get them on a call- but let them know that you'll explain what you do and the pricing.

This, by the way, is also the way to follow up on the connection message above. Just without all of the extra stuff:

Hey, just for my own sanity, did you find the LINK useful?

Something like that will be a good follow-up.

Finally, the big thing to remember when messaging is that age-old sales mantra:

Some will, some won't, so what? Next.

After all, by doing this, you'll be a cut above everyone else and you will get business.