9 LinkedIn inMail tips

Best InMail Subject Lines

 

When you are prospecting on LinkedIn, you shouldn’t forget about InMails, an effective instrument for all salespeople using this social network. So, what is an InMail? InMail is a message which you are able to write to people outside your network. They are available only in Sales Navigator, a paid LinkedIn solution, and for LinkedIn Premium users.

 

Read more about Sales Navigator and its plans in our article here.

 

 

 

 

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Why Are You Sending the InMail in the First Place?

 

If you use the free version of LinkedIn, you can write messages only to those people who are in your network, but with the help of Sales Navigator and InMails you can write messages to people with whom you are not yet connected. If there is a reason to contact a person outside your network, InMails can help you do this.

 

Sales Navigator allows you to send 20 InMails per month. If you do not use all these credits during the month, they will be transferred to the next month, but all available credits will expire in 90 days if you do not use them.

 

So, based on the fact that you have only 20 credits for InMails per month, you should do your best to use them in full and, as a result, generate new leads. Be aware of the remaining number of credits and only send LinkedIn InMails to your target clients. The critical thing is that the perfect InMail should spark a conversation. That’s why you need to catch the attention of the recipient. You should remember that if you are writing a message to a decision-maker or influencer, it will perhaps be one of up to 100 he receives per day, so you have to stand out.

 

Incidentally, if you intend to send more than 20 InMails per month, you can get more for additional payment if you have a Premium LinkedIn account. In Sales Navigator, this option is closed.

 

Each time you open a window to write a new InMail, you will see the number of credits remaining to you:

 

 

 

 

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How to Write the Best LinkedIn InMail, One that Gets a Response

 

When you are using InMails as a part of your lead generation process on LinkedIn, you should think about how to catch the recipient’s attention and stand out among all other salespeople using this instrument. So, how should you write the best LinkedIn InMail? Here are several important tips:

 

1.   Begin your InMail with an attention-grabbing subject

The first thing a recipient notices is the subject of your InMail. The statistics say that 35% of people tend to open a message if the subject catches their attention and resonates with them. The first thing is to make it personal; this will convince a person to open your InMail which is half the battle. Secondly, the subject should be short and direct; you have to write in very few words why this InMail needs to be opened and what you want to talk about.

 

Below is an example of an attention-grabbing subject of an InMail:

 

 

2.   Make your InMail personal

The best way to begin your InMail is to write the name of a person you are addressing. You should create the impression that this InMail is not generic. The worst way of beginning your InMail is “Hi {firstname}”. It is a guarantee that a recipient will not read your message and will never open messages from you in the future.

 

Start your InMail with a brief and personal greeting. Before writing an InMail, briefly look through the profile of a person, their company’s page, the content posted, and search for some hooks to mention in your InMail. Whether the startup received funding or the company expanded, these are good things to include, and your InMail will be personal.

 

3.   Make your InMail short but meaningful

Though Sales Navigator allows you to write long InMails (you have 1900 characters for a message body and 200 characters for a subject), it is not a good idea to make it long as nobody will read that. Get straight to the point about your goal, as you have to disclose all the relevant information in just a few sentences. Explain what you do and why you are writing the InMail to this person. Remember to indicate how you can help this person and how you can satisfy their professional requirements. If the recipient is interested, they will respond to your message, and you will be able to send more information as per their request. Do not flood your InMail with dozens of links, as this may be reported as spam by the recipient.

 

 

Here is one more example of a win-win structure for your InMail message:

1. Who.

2. What.

3. Why.

4. Where.

5. When.

 

4. What is your goal?

One of the most important things you have to define before writing an InMail is its goal. If you write a message to someone you do not know personally, you need to have a direct reason to do so. Why are you sending an InMail to this person? What do you want to achieve? If your goal is highly specific, indicate this clearly.

 

If you compare InMails with the LinkedIn messages you would write to your 1st level connections, do not be afraid of selling when you write an InMail. You are not sending an invitation request (so it would not be considered as spam), rather you are contacting them with the intention of selling, which is the main objective of LinkedIn messaging with unknown people.

 

5. Add a call-to-action to your InMail

After you have written the most important information and the reason you are contacting this person, finish your InMail with a call-to-action. This may be a suggestion to schedule a Skype call or to send relevant case studies, etc. In this way, you are encouraging a person to respond to you and continue the conversation.

 

Do not close your InMail with a generic phrase like “Let me know if you are interested”. Seeing as your goal is to receive a person’s response, you should tempt the recipient to write you an answer even if there is no direct interest in your services or vacancy. If you are contacting influencers, they are usually very busy, so they will not spend much time thinking about the best way to answer you. So if you close your InMails with a clear call-to-action, you are creating a “template” for a person’s answer which will greatly increase the response rate of your InMails.

 

Take a look at this example of a LinkedIn InMail with a clear call-to-action:

 

 

6.   Finish your InMail with a polite phrase

It is always a good idea to finish your InMail with one of the following phrases:

• Looking forward to your response!
• I’d love to hear some feedback from you!
• Have a great week ahead!
• Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Politeness is something you should always consider when you write a message to somebody you don’t know personally, because you are entering their private space. Try not to annoy them and always remain courteous.

 

7.   Add a signature

Sales Navigator allows you to add a signature to your messages. You can create it once and it will automatically be added to all your InMails. It should be short and clear, without unnecessary details and information.

 

Your signature should contain:

– your name;

– your position;

– the company you represent;

– link to the company’s website;

– the best communication channel to get in touch with you (email, WhatsApp number, etc.)

 

 

8.   Test the best time to send an InMail

When you are doing lead generation on LinkedIn, you have to remember that it is not only important what message you send, but also when you send it. You have to hit the right time. Sure, you can try sending InMails on different days and at different times, but the best option is to send messages during the working day (bear in mind different time zones), not too early in the morning, too late at night, or at the weekend or holidays.

 

You can send InMails both manually and with the help of LinkedIn automation tools, which enable you to automate sending InMails which saves you time. But, in any case, you will have to follow up on your InMails manually. Once you have sent an InMail, it is no longer displayed in your LinkedIn inbox, but in the Sales Navigator inbox:

 

 

If you terminate your Sales Navigator subscription, you will not be able to open the Sales Navigator inbox and continue any conversations which originally began using InMails.

 

Subscribe to our blog to get even more useful information about lead generation on LinkedIn and additional hints and tips. And try Dooozen – a LinkedIn automation tool that helps you avoid the daily grind while working with LinkedIn.

 

 

 

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FAQ

 

1.   What is LinkedIn InMail used for?

LinkedIn InMails are used for contacting with people outside your network to hire, advertise, promote any services, or for any other reason. With the free version of LinkedIn, users can write messages only to those people who are in their network (1st level connections), but with the help of InMails you can write messages to people with whom you are not yet connected.

 

2.   Does LinkedIn InMail go to email?

No. If you subscribe to Sales Navigator, you will have “My Sales Navigator Inbox”, where all the InMails you sent are displayed, as well as any subsequent conversations from prospective clients who replied to you. It is worth noting that if you terminate your Sales Navigator subscription, you will not be able to continue those conversations that originally began using InMails.

 

3.   How will I know if I get an answer to my LinkedIn InMail?

If you get an answer to your LinkedIn InMail, it will be displayed as a new message in your Sales Navigator inbox.