LinkedIn Inmail Tips: How to Generate a Response

Any recruiter is well-acquainted with the importance of using LinkedIn as part of their talent-search strategy. Communicating with potential candidates on this professional network is easy as LinkedIn allows you to send an InMail directly to an intended party. Regardless of the party's interest, you can directly get in touch.

According to LinkedIn research, the percent of interactions between recruiters and members has increased by 40% over the past two years. What’s more, InMail response rates were up 25% in 2018 after an all-time high in June.

Although it’s easy to deliver a message to a recipient, it’s up to the recipient to decide whether he/she will respond. As more and more people are contacted via LinkedIn Inmail, recruiters are looking for innovative and creative ways to attract the attention of the vast talent pool that thrives on the platform. Recruiters are being more thoughtful in the messages they send and are giving their best efforts to make sure the messages they send are actually getting read and responded to.

In the opinion of the most successful recruiters who use LinkedIn for networking, these are the types of messages that will get you the most response rates from talented individuals.

 Craft a Great Subject Line

Did you know that 35% of people will only open your message if your subject line isn’t witty enough?

Crafting a catchy subject line is the most important part of your message. It’s the first thing the recipient sees when he/she gets the message notification. In order to attract the best talent, your subject line must be captivating and needs to stand out among the many.

You must make a good first impression and avoid boring the recipient. Instead, you must hold his/her interest and motivate him/her to read the body of your message.

What’s a good subject line you can use?

Let’s start with the bad ones.

Lines such as “we’re hiring” or “we’re looking for” are outdated and mundane. To entice your reader to read your InMail message and persuade him to consider working for your company, you need to be unique and quirky. 

On the bright side, there are some tricks you can use to ensure your recipients actually read the message.

Studies have shown that people tend to read the message if the subject line includes their name. For example, a great subject line formula is the following:

"[Candidate Name: From [University or College] to [Company]?"

This line is particularly effective because it also shows that you’ve invested time in researching the candidate’s education.

What’s more, it’s always a good idea to mention a mutual connection in your subject line. Research has shown that this strategy increases your chances of getting a response by 27%. Say something like: “Mary suggested I get in touch.”

Another catchy move would be to congratulate them on an achievement or on a piece of work. This will give your candidate an ego boost and will captivate their attention. You can say: “I enjoyed reading your article on the Gender Pay Gap!”

Lastly, never be afraid to think out of the box and engage your recipients with an ingenious subject line!

Keep it Short and Sweet

What should you write in the body text of the InMail message? Should you write in details, or should you keep it short and sweet? The latter is the preferred option.

LinkedIn’s research shows that what candidates want to read in their message is job details, salary range, and the company overview. There’s no need to write a whole essay on why you think that person is the perfect pick.

Give them the information they seek, but hold back a few tempting details to sparkle their interest. For example, tell them what their role would be and give them info about the company but don’t mention salary. When your candidates know some partial information but are missing relevant details, they feel compelled to seek out the missing information. It’s in our human psychology to try to find out what we don’t yet know.

The length of your message shouldn't exceed 200 words. There are certain words you can use to boost your response rates, including “talk,” “chat,” and “connect”. Phrases related to scheduling tend to decrease the response rates of candidates.

Great content looks something like this:

“Subject line: Let’s chat!

Hi Ben,

I stumbled upon your profile and I was highly impressed with the latest blog you’ve published on Future of Work. I’m a recruiter for a reputable digital marketing agency in North Carolina and wanted to reach out and see if you were interested in the Content Marketing Manager role. If you are, we would love to hear back from you.

Have an amazing day and looking forward to connecting with you!”

 Personalize Your InMail Messages

Sending personalized InMails can boost your response rate by 15%. You can use a template, but put an effort into customizing it.

In your message, make it all about the candidate. You can address them with their name, or directly with “you”. Messages that contain personal impact attract more attention. Say something like:

“You have the expertise to assume the role of a front-end developer at a reputable company.”

Get personal with details about them. You can include the following in your message: “The startup you founded for online learning caught my eye”. Or: “I love your experience in the tech industry, as well as your passion for social responsibility and think you can be a good fit.”

By customizing your messages, you show that you know how to do your homework and that you are competent.

Include a Clear “Call to Action” at the End of Your Message

If you fail to include a clear “Call to Action” at the end of your message, you’re risking not receiving an answer from your candidate.

A well-written “call to action” phrase will urge your reader to take an immediate action. The trick is to include a “call to action” but without asking too much from your candidate.

You can end your message with something like this:

? “Looking forward to connecting with you.”

? “What do you say?”

? "Is this something you might be interested in?”

This can encourage a faster and higher response rate as it puts the ball firmly in their court.

Connect With People Who Would Like to Hear From You

Next time you want to send out an InMail, avoid sounding spammy and follow these LinkedIn InMail tips to get the highest response rates.

Make sure you always target those who would love to hear from you. These people include those who share content from your Career Pages, those who have interacted with you, and those who follow your company. A likewise captive audience are those who’ve already signaled interest in hearing about new opportunities by switching on LinkedIn’s Open Candidates feature.  

To keep track of your messages, you can use some recruitment software to make the task easier and more efficient.

Happy recruiting!

Do you have any other tips or tricks to share with us? Tell us in the comments below, we would love to hear your ideas.