LinkedIn connection request outreach

A connection request has one job: help the recipient understand why accepting makes sense. Choose the reason before you write the note. A note can help you stand out immediately.¹ A blank request can outperform a request carrying a pitch.² Use a note when you have real context. Use the default request when you have no useful context and are sending at scale.³

Choose the person and the reason

Start with someone you can give a recognizable reason for contacting. The reason should come from the relationship or the context around the outreach, so the recipient can place you quickly.

If you have met the person, use that meeting as the reason to connect. Connect with every person you meet and refer to the meeting in the message.^{4, 5} When several people attended, connect with the other attendees and provide context for the request.⁶

Before writing, answer these questions:

• What do I share with this person?
• Where would they recognize me from?
• What makes this request relevant to this person today?

When buyers are active on LinkedIn, a connection request can be the opening social step in the outreach.⁷ Move on to the note decision when you can state the reason in plain language.

Decide whether to add a note

Whether to add a note

If you have a meeting

Choose a note

If nothing specific to say

Choose blank

Whether to add a note

• If you have a meeting, Choose a note
• If nothing specific to say, Choose blank

Decide whether the request needs a note before drafting one. This keeps you from filling the text box with a message that adds no context.

Whether to add a note is an early LinkedIn outreach decision.⁸ Use one when you can make the connection authentic or show some personality. An authentic invitation is one recommended approach,⁹ and showing personality is another.¹⁰

A broad prospecting send can use the default blank request.³ Another approach leaves the request blank unless the sender is trying to reach a powerful stakeholder.¹¹

Choose a note when you have a meeting, a shared role, a mutual connection, a shared interest, or a referral. Choose blank when the only reason for sending is that the person matches a broad prospect list and you have nothing specific to say.

Write the note

Write for recognition and conversation. The recipient should understand why the request belongs in their inbox before you ask for anything beyond the connection.

Build the note from the strongest context available. A shared role and mutual connections can support a short request followed by a small question. Close with "Open to networking?"¹²

A mutual friend, hobby, or even food can give you a shared topic and make you less of a stranger to the recipient.¹³ Use that detail when it is genuine and easy for the recipient to recognize.

A referral gives you a different structure. Name the person who referred you, introduce yourself, explain the relevant help you may offer, and ask to connect.¹⁴ Keep the explanation short enough that the connection request still feels like a request.

The best connection messages are described as the natural start of a conversation.¹⁵ Read the note once as the recipient would. If it sounds like a product explanation, remove that section and return to the shared context.

Use these checks before sending:

• Can the recipient identify the reason for the request without extra research?
• Does the note contain a detail that belongs to this person?
• Is the action you want limited to connecting?

Send with context

Timing matters when the request is part of a wider sequence. Give the recipient enough context to recognize the outreach, then let the request stand on its own.

When the request follows other outreach, one approach sends it on Friday after a full week and includes context.¹⁶ The note can mention that the sender's name may look familiar because of earlier emails and express appreciation for a chance to chat.¹⁷ That wording works because it explains the connection request instead of pretending the recipient already knows the sender.

After sending, treat acceptance as an outcome to watch rather than an expected response. Not every connection request will be accepted.¹⁸ Nonacceptance can make it harder to refine the message and engage with the recipient later.¹⁹ Use that result to review whether the request gave the recipient a clear reason to recognize you.

What not to do

These mistakes make the request harder to place or turn the connection step into a premature sales message.

• Do not open with generic language or put a sales pitch in the first connection message.²⁰
• Do not send a contextless invitation that strongly signals prospecting.²¹