Use InMail when you have a specific person, a reason tied to their work, and a small decision to ask for. It reaches someone outside your network without an accept gate, so the recipient sees the message before deciding whether to connect.1 Write for a reply to a clear, time-bound question with a simple yes or no as the possible answer.2 LinkedIn returns the credit when the recipient responds within 90 days, even with a negative answer.3
Choose the target and channel
Choose the route based on the person you want to reach and the response you need.
InMail is a paid message sent to someone outside your network.4 Use LinkedIn's search tool to find the person,5 then open the person's profile page.6 Check whether the profile is open before spending a credit. Sending InMails to an open profile is free.7 An open profile signals that the person prefers this kind of communication.8
InMail can reach people in second and third degree networks without a connection request.9 Premium and Sales Navigator add InMail, and a Sales Navigator plan includes a monthly InMail allowance.10 Give a thoughtful connection message priority when it can create the relationship you need, and reserve InMail for a deliberate ask.11
Build the message
Build the message around why this person should care now. Each line should help them understand the context or answer the ask.
Use the profile to check the spelling of the person's name and identify work or industry you can acknowledge.12 Put a specific reference in the opening line because it carries the relevance of the direct connection message.13 A quarterly priority, recent press release, or new hire in a key role can show that you did the work to understand the account.14
A useful diagnostic can start with an industry-level challenge seen across multiple accounts.15 Choose a detail that affects the recipient's work so the message feels more like a conversation.16 Explain what prompted the outreach in concise, conversational language.17
End with a small ask that makes the response easy. Ask whether the issue is relevant, whether the timing is right, or whether a short conversation makes sense. Keep the ask connected to the opening reference so the recipient can answer the message you sent.
Set the subject and length
Use a specific subject that prepares the recipient for the first line and makes the reason for contact clear.
The subject line is limited to 200 characters and the body is limited to 1,900 characters.18 Aim for 50 to 75 words.19 Shorter messages receive higher response rates because many InMails are read on mobile devices.20
Use the same real context in the subject and opening when that makes the message easier to understand. Remove any sentence that adds background without helping the recipient decide whether to answer.
Send and handle replies
Send after the target, context, and ask work together. The message should open a conversation that the recipient can steer.
An InMail message is a conversation starter.21 When a reply arrives, respond to the issue the recipient chose to answer and keep the next ask proportionate to that response. A direct answer deserves a direct continuation; a question deserves an answer before you ask for anything else.
If there is no reply, review the target and the context before changing the copy. The message may have reached the right person with the wrong reason, or the right reason with too much work attached to the response.
What not to do
These mistakes turn a deliberate channel into a generic broadcast.
- Putting InMail ahead of a thoughtful LinkedIn connection message reverses the recommended order.11
- Volume sending conflicts with the channel's recommended use as a single, clear ask.22
- Skipping research before the first message removes the material needed for customized outreach.23
- Writing in a template voice makes the message sound unlike the sender; the templates are a starting point.24
- Generic openings leave out the real priority, announcement, or connection the message should reference.25