READ ME IF YOU WANT TO

IMPROVE YOUR INMAIL

RESPONSE RATES
ON LINKEDIN
#3
in a series of 6
Why it matters
InMails have a 10-25% hit rate when it comes to soliciting
a response from prospects - 300% higher than emails with
the exact same content.1 This has to do with how InMails
work. They come optimized for mobile within the LinkedIn
app, they trigger immediate notifications on mobile, and
they go to a dedicated inbox (in LinkedIn) as well as to the
recipient’s standard email inbox. In other words, InMail targets
three touchpoints with the prospect, instead of just one –
New InMail - Carmen Franco
automatically increasing your chances of a positive reception.
Good energy around clean energy

As valuable as InMail is for connecting with prospects, Hi Carmen,

Bravo to you! I saw you speak at the Energy Roundtable

the best salespeople only use InMail when a referral isn’t this week. Your ideas around clean energy innovations in
Malaysia were by far the most advanced stuff I’ve heard.
possible. Personal introductions still yield the highest success
Reading your recent LinkedIn posts, and given how active
rates – up to 500% higher than an unsolicited approach.2 But you are in this space, one of your top priorities would be
creating IT efficiencies across your organization. I sense that
you’re dedicated to seeing yourself leading that initiative.
if you lack a common connection with a prospect, a well- Here at EZPay, I advise our customers on just that.

crafted, personalized InMail gives you a great shot at starting I would love to chat more about your ideas about energy,
IT, and operational efficiency. What’s the easiest way to
a conversation. brainstorm together? Happy to hop on the phone, or treat
you to a cup of coffee.

Best,
Michael Mack
This eBook explains how to write a standout InMail VP of Product, EZPay.com
415-555-6789 | mmack@ezpay.com
message, using a proven approach and format for every
single InMail you craft.

1,2
LinkedIn, “How to Personalize Your InMail Pitch”
 Focus on the
STEP 1
best targets
Marketers are abandoning the batch-and-blast
approach in favor of a more refined, selective
one. The best marketers carefully develop their
target list before putting together an email. Hi Carmen,

Bravo to you! I saw you speak at the Energy Roundtable this week. Your ideas
This is what enables them to send the most around clean energy innovations in Arizona were by far the most advanced
stuff I’ve heard.
relevant messages to the most fitting recipients Reading your recent LinkedIn posts, and given how active you are in this
Conversation with top
space, one of your Carmen
priorities would be creating IT efficiencies across your
for the highest open rates. organization. I sense that you’re dedicated to seeing yourself leading that
initiative. Here at EZPay, I advise our customers on just that.

I would love to chat more about your ideas about energy, IT, and operational
efficiency. What’s the easiest way to brainstorm together? Happy to hop on the
The same approach is especially important phone, or treat you to a cup of coffee.

Best,
on InMail, where you’ll quickly lose credibility Michael Mack
VP of Product, EZPay.com

if you’re just “spraying and praying.” Make 415-555-6789 | mmack@ezpay.com

sure you have a reason for every instance of

Carmen accepted your message today

outreach. Research the LinkedIn member and Hi Michael,

ask whether you can offer value by sending Your message came at such an appropriate time. With this
acquisition, we are exploring products that would help us
better handle supply chain management via IT integration
a message. If the answer is no, cross that across all our subsidiaries. I would like to understand more
about how EZPay could fit into our goals. I’m available for a
recipient off your list for now. chat on Tuesday at 10 AM.

Best,
Carmen

8:38 am
 Start socially
STEP 2
One of the biggest reasons cold outreach falls flat is because
of how impersonal it feels. Taking the time to personalize your
InMail will go a long way to warming up the prospect and
encouraging a reply.

To find a compelling opening for your message, look at your

prospect’s profile for a common connection or an interesting
talking point. Leading with this will demonstrate your interest
in them as a person, and make them far more receptive than if
you were to send a straight-up sales pitch.

Not sure what makes a natural, compelling talking point to

lead off with? Consider these options:
• Shared hobbies and interests
• Shared education history
• LinkedIn posts they have published or commented on
• LinkedIn Groups they belong to

PRO TIP
Be authentic about your interest. It’s
easy to detect fake enthusiasm even
in electronic communications.
 Grab them with a

STEP 3
subject line
Write a subject line that is clear yet compelling by focusing on
what’s in it for the reader, and making it about them. According to
one study, emails with a personalized subject line get 50 percent
higher open rates than those without.1

The trick is finding a way to spark curiosity in 80 characters or

less (think about six or seven words) so it shows in the preview
and on a mobile device screen.

As you craft the InMail subject line, use your reason for outreach,
or mutual connections or interests, for inspiration:
• Mention a shared connection: “Joe Jones suggested I get in
touch.” LinkedIn members are more likely to read and respond
to an InMail when you reference a common connection. A
prospect is 46 percent more likely to accept an InMail if they
are connected to someone who works at your company.3
• Reference a mutual interest: “Hello from a fellow marathoner.”
Mentioning a commonality taps into the recipient’s passion
and demonstrates you’ve done your homework. In fact, our
data shows that LinkedIn members who share a Group in
common are 21 percent more likely to write back.4
• Praise the recipient: “Loved your post on innovative
manufacturing processes!” or “Congratulations on your new
role at [COMPANY].” This shows you’ve done your research. 3
PR Newswire, “Personalized
PRO TIP email subject lines boost open
Get alerted when a new prospect matches your rates by 50 percent”
Ideally your subject line will provide a smooth segue into your
LinkedIn saved search criteria and then send 4
LinkedIn, “9 Stats That Will
a relevant InMail (such as “Congratulations on message. For instance, if Joe Jones suggested you reach out, the Help You Write Better LinkedIn
your new role!”). first line could explain why. InMails”
 Make it personal

STEP 4
People ignore messages that aren’t tailored to them, so generic
cookie-cutter emails are out.

Sure, templates can be more efficient. But taking the time to

more deeply personalize your messages boosts the chance of
triggering a response.

In addition to calling the person by name more than once, make

the message contextual and personal wherever possible. For
instance, reference your prospect’s priorities based on insights
such as shared connections and company/individual mentions in
the news that you uncover using InMail for Sales Navigator. Then
explain what value you can offer that prompted you to reach out.

Ideas for personalizing:

• Mention a common contact
• Refer to a common LinkedIn Group
• Ask a follow-up question about a LinkedIn Group posting
(theirs or someone else’s)
• Discuss a common company, experience, or personal interest
• Ask for an opinion

Remember that a conversational tone comes across as more

personal, so aim for a free-flowing message that sounds like it
came from an everyday person.

PRO TIP
If you think of your subject line as the promise, think of
the first line of your InMail as the payoff. Get the subject
line-introductory sentence combination right, and you
greatly improve your chances of getting read.
 Keep readability
STEP 5
in mind
According an analysis by email productivity service provider
Boomerang, the ideal length for an email is 50 to 125 words.5
This translates perfectly to InMail, since more than 50 percent
of these messages are opened on smartphones, and often by
busy professionals.

Show you respect the prospect’s time by writing a short

message that is easy to digest. Write in plain, easy-to-
understand language, with a goal of starting a conversation.
The Boomerang research found that sales emails written at a
third-grade reading level get the highest response, followed by
emails written at a kindergarten reading level.

Keep the Rule of Three in mind. Top sales strategist Jill

Konrath advocates using a max of three paragraphs and
three sentences per paragraph. You’re more likely to grab
someone’s attention with that approach.6

5
Boomerang, “Write Better Emails With Boomerang for Gmail”
6
Prialto, “Best Practices for Doing Sales Outreach via LinkedIn”
 Your checklist

STEP 6
for success
Here’s a summary of best-practice copywriting tips for
composing your InMail:
Use a compelling subject line. Referencing common
interests or a specific challenge the prospect is facing are
good starting points. Try to pique the prospect’s curiosity.

Make it about them. Focus on benefits to the prospect,

discuss their interests, and refer to awards or achievements
noted on their LinkedIn profile to build rapport. Using
inclusive language (“we” versus “I”) can also help.

Start a conversation. Asking questions or sharing common

details about your experience not only encourages a
response, it shows you know what you’re talking about –
whether it’s about a solution architecture or sports.

Keep it short. The average online reader’s attention span is

about eight seconds, so keep your messages to 100 words
or so.

Offer next steps. Always close with an action – either

requesting a meeting or providing your availability for a
conversation. This is the best way to ensure a response and
start building the relationship further.

PRO TIP
Try using InMail to extend the conversation with
people who’ve already engaged with your long-
form posts. The second tab on “Who’s Viewed
My Profile” will show you the profiles of those
who’ve liked or commented on your posts.
 Follow up
STEP 7
Only follow up at most once after your initial InMail. The trick
is to forward the same InMail to your prospect 1-2 weeks
after the original (assuming no response), asking again for
an appointment.

If you stick to InMail exclusively and follow established best

practices for the platform, you should see better performance
rates as compared to other cold-contact methods.

That said, InMail’s success can be improved by combining

it with email and/or phone call contacts. Some consultants
report an eight-percent increase in contact-to-meeting
ratios when combining InMail with at least one other
contact method.7

7
LinkedIn, “Answering 6 Common Questions Salespeople Have About InMail”
 Breaking it down
An InMail is more likely to work if you lead with something
that the prospect is interested in or passionate about. Notice
how Michael puts this first in both the subject line and the
paragraph structure of his InMail to Carmen to immediately
catch her attention.

New InMail - Carmen Franco It’s fine to state openly that you’ve learned about this more
Good energy around clean energy personal subject matter from the prospect’s LinkedIn profile –
Hi Carmen, this is, after all, information they’ve freely shared in a business
Bravo to you! I saw you speak at the Energy Roundtable this
week. Your ideas around clean energy innovations in Arizona
context. However, Michael also does a good job of naturally
were by far the most advanced stuff I’ve heard.
incorporating aspects of Carmen’s profile into his opening
Reading your recent LinkedIn posts, and given how active
you are in this space, one of your top priorities would be
creating IT efficiencies across your organization. I sense that
icebreaker, such as the fact that she works in Arizona.
you’re dedicated to seeing yourself leading that initiative.
Here at EZPay, I advise our customers on just that.

I would love to chat more about your ideas about energy,

IT, and operational efficiency. What’s the easiest way to When it comes to the business-end of the InMail, Michael’s
brainstorm together? Happy to hop on the phone, or treat
you to a cup of coffee. language is all about his prospect Carmen. Using phrases like
Best,
Michael Mack “given how active you are” and “dedicated to seeing yourself”
VP of Product, EZPay.com
415-555-6789 | mmack@ezpay.com
can clearly frame the prospect’s situation and tie it into the
seller’s skills or services.

Michael also avoids any language that could be construed as

too forceful or sales-y. Rather than assume that he can book
time in Carmen’s calendar, he asks “what’s the easiest way” to
demonstrate a willingness to accommodate her preferences.
Give the prospect as much control over next steps as
possible, but do include a specific call to action (in this case, a
phone call or meeting).
About us
LinkedIn Sales Navigator makes it simple
to establish and grow relationships with
prospects and customers by helping you tap
into the power of LinkedIn, the world’s largest
professional network of 500+ million members.
Designed for sales professionals, LinkedIn Sales
Navigator combines LinkedIn’s network data,
relevant news sources, and your accounts,
leads, and preferences to produce customized
recommendations and insights.

With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can focus on

the right people and companies, stay up-to-date
on what’s happening with your accounts, and
build trust with your prospects and customers.

Looking to get LinkedIn Sales Navigator for your

team? Request a free demo.