Best LinkedIn cold messages that work in 2025

Everybody knows that one of the best ways to get new customers is by contacting them using LinkedIn cold messages. Why? Well, sales teams prefer cold outreach via LinkedIn because this social media is the most effective B2B lead generation channel. Compared to cold calling and cold emails, that is.

However, when crafting a LinkedIn cold message, salespeople often get confused about how to approach their leads. Or, for example, their cold outreach message ends up showing no effect at all. We’ve been there too: testing countless variations, rewriting openers, and learning the hard way what gets replies (and what doesn’t).

That said, let’s make your LinkedIn outreach a winning game. In this article, we’ll focus on the best LinkedIn cold messages — the ones that delivered real results for us and our users — along with practical tips to help you write your own.

And as a bonus, we’ll also introduce you to a LinkedIn automation tool that makes it possible to send these high-performing messages and do it at scale.

What is a LinkedIn cold message?

A LinkedIn cold message is a way to reach out to someone on LinkedIn who hasn’t interacted with you before. These messages typically come in 3 forms:

• Connection request, 
• Message (after the leads accept an invite), 
• or InMail. 

Each type has its own approach and best practices for getting a response. 

For example, a well-crafted InMail can see an average reply rate of 18 to 25 percent, while cold emails usually sit around 3%.

Nevertheless, it’s important to note that one should not limit oneself to using LinkedIn only. In fact, the best way to acquire and close an outbound lead is by using both LinkedIn and email in your outreach strategy. 

The benefits of LinkedIn cold messages

LinkedIn is the biggest social media platform for startups, company founders, CEOs, sales professionals, marketers, recruiters, B2B influencers, and more. With roughly 1 billion users, it’s been recognized as an ideal space to grow your professional network, generate leads, and build business-to-business partnerships.

That’s why marketers often use it for their outbound marketing efforts, such as publishing LinkedIn ads, promoting webinars, and gathering leads for their sales teams. Sales teams and recruiters, on the other hand, typically use LinkedIn for outbound activities such as prospecting and sending LinkedIn cold messages.

But why does cold messaging work so well here?

Firstly, LinkedIn offers more transparency than email. Your recipient can instantly see who you are, what your role is, and decide whether to engage.

Secondly, the larger your network grows, the more leads you can reach, and mutual connections also help increase your acceptance rate.

Lastly, with both connection requests and InMails at your disposal, you always have more than one shot at starting a conversation.

LinkedIn cold message templates & examples that work in 2025

When we first started optimizing our LinkedIn outreach, our reply rates hovered around 10%.

After A/B testing 1000s of messages, we discovered what actually works. 

Now, we’re sharing our best-performing templates — the ones that helped us and our users:

• Increase our response rate
• Book more meetings with hard-to-reach prospects
• Shorten our sales cycle and boost conversion

And yes, every result you see here was tracked directly inside Skylead from our and our clients’ real campaigns.

Of course, Skylead does much more than track replies. You can plug these exact templates into it, personalize them at scale, and automate your entire outreach without sacrificing quality.

Want to skip the manual work and launch a high-performing outreach campaign in minutes? Try Skylead now for free!

We’ll go deeper into how it works in a moment. But now, let’s get into LinkedIn cold messages that helped us and our clients increase conversions by 3x!

General cold messaging tactics and templates

Leverage something you have in common

The first tip about cold LinkedIn messages is to find common ground with your leads. To clarify, this can be anything from liking the same post, influencer, or sport. Here is an example.

Cold LinkedIn connection message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I noticed you liked {{authorName}}’s post on {{subjectOfThePost}}. I loved it as well. Especially the part about {{statementAndConclusion}}. I’d like to connect since I can see you know a lot about {{Topic}}.

Real-life example:

Or you can drop them an InMail such as this one:

Subject line: Post about {{Topic}}

InMail template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I noticed you reacted to {{authorName}}’s post on {{subjectOfThePost}}. I loved it as well — especially the part about {{statementAndConclusion}}.

Anyways, I noticed by looking at your profile that you’re familiar with {{Topic}}, so I wanted to see whether you are approaching {{KeyProblemYou’reSolving}} in {{currentCompany}}?

I would love to know more about this.

Best, {{Your Name}}

Response rate: 35%

Real-life example:

Mention a shared connection

People are more likely to accept a LinkedIn invite if it references a mutual connection. If you’d like to increase your chances, you can send an invite such as this one, which boosted our acceptance rate by 2x in just one campaign:

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hey {{firstName}},

I noticed that {{mutualConnectionName}} is part of your network too. We {{yourHistory}}. Anyways, I see you work as {{Position}} and like to chat. Maybe we can exchange some tips.

Real-life example:

See if a mutual connection can introduce you

If, however, you prefer to get introduced to your lead by a mutual connection, you can send a direct message such as this one:

LinkedIn message template:

Hey {{firstName}},

I noticed that {{leadName}} is a part of your network. I’ve been following them for a while now, and I just wanted to chat about their experience as {{Position}}.

Would you mind if you introduced me to them? It’s always better to be introduced, rather than reaching out of the blue. It would mean the world to me.

Best, {{Your Name}}

Real-life example:

Stroke their ego

Everybody likes to receive a compliment about their work or an accomplishment. So, one way you can compliment your leads is to find the post you genuinely like and reference it in your cold LinkedIn message, as we have:

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hey {{firstName}},

I loved your post about {{Topic}}. What I loved the most was {{Statement}}.

Anyways, I wanted to connect and chat about how you as a {{Position}} handle {{painPoint}} in your daily work life.

Real-life example:

If they do not respond, you can always send an InMail such as this one:

Subject line: Loved your post about {{Topic}}

InMail template: Hey {{firstName}},

I tried sending an invite, but I guess it got lost somewhere along the way. I wanted to reach out and first say I loved the content you are posting, especially the one about {{Topic}}. What I loved the most was {{Statement}}.

Anyways, I just wanted to connect and chat about how you, as a {{Position}} handle {{painPoint}} in your daily work life, and I'd like a chance to present a solution that {{solutionToPainPoint}} to the table.

If what I offer sounds compelling to you, please let me know. However, if the timing is off, or this is not in the area of your interest at the moment, I'll be happy to enjoy your future posts on LinkedIn. 🙂

Warm regards, {{Your Name}}

Response rate: 30%

Real-life example:

Give reason to reply

By posing a question in your cold LinkedIn outreach, you give your leads a chance to talk a bit about themselves, and you can learn a bit more about their work. So, drop a connection request such as this one:

Cold LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I noticed you work as {{Position}}, so I wanted to reach out and chat about your position. I’m curious what {{Strategy}} has the best {{Result}} from your experience. 😀

Real-life example:

If they do not respond, you can send a cold InMail, such as this one:

Subject line: A quick question

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I tried reaching out over a connection request, but it seems it got lost in the sea of requests you might be getting. Anyways, as a {{Position}}, I always like to expand my network and chat with people about their positions. So I came across your amazing profile, and I was curious, what {{Strategy}} has the best {{Result}} from your experience? 😀

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards, {{Your Name}}

Real-life example:

Leverage a group connection

Leveraging mutual LinkedIn groups is one of the best conversation-starters in cold outreach. Moreover, you can top it up with humor and create a charming first impression. 

Here is a connection message template that does just that:

Cold LinkedIn connection request template:

Always trust a glue salesperson. They tend to stick to their word…

Just kidding, {{firstName}}. I saw that you are also part of the {{groupName}} group. Hope we can learn from each other!

Acceptance rate: 63%

Real-life example:

And if they accept a request and do not respond, your next LinkedIn message could sound like this:

LinkedIn message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

Thank you for connecting. I love chatting with other members of the group. Was curious, how are you solving {{painPoint}} at {{currentCompany}}?

Response rate: 37%

Real-life example:

However, if they don't reply to a connection request, you can send the following InMail:

Subject line: Saw you are also a member of {{groupName}}

InMail template: Hello {{firstName}},

I recently tried connecting on CompanyTinder with you... I mean on LinkedIn. Just joking {{firstName}}, I visited your LinkedIn and saw that we are both a part of the same LinkedIn group.

Anyways, I couldn't help but notice you are {{occupation}} at {{currentCompany}}. I was curious, how are you solving {{painPoint}}?

If you still haven't found the solution, I would love to chat with you this week over a call about how {{nameOfYourCompany}} could help you. Either way, hope Q2 is going great for you!

Best! {{Your name}}

Response rate: 27%

Real-life example:

Then you can proceed by asking them what their biggest challenges are, offering tailored solutions, and presenting your product or service.

LinkedIn cold message for B2B lead generation

If they viewed your profile

Sometimes, your Buyer Persona will view your profile. In that case, you can send them a high-performing connection request such as this one:

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I saw you viewed my profile on LinkedIn. Let's connect and chat. 😊

Perhaps we discover we can collaborate.

Acceptance rate: 63%

Real-life example:

If they accept your connection request but do not respond, try taking this follow-up message for a spin:

LinkedIn message template:

Hey {{firstName}},

Thanks for connecting. Perhaps, I was just in the pool of the {{typeOfProduct}} you are researching. 😊 However, I do have extensive knowledge of {{painPointTopic}}. Let me know if you are looking for something specific.

Response rate: 29%

Real-life example:

Mention relevant company news

You can also reference recent company news, achievements, or celebrations to catch your lead's attention. In addition, since the company experienced a change, you can present your product/service as a new and refreshing solution on the market. In that case, help yourself with this piece:

LinkedIn connection message:

Hey {{firstName}},

Congrats on {{companyNewsTopic}}. I've been following you for a while now, and this is truly great to hear! I wanted to reach out and chat about an idea that I think your team can benefit from. Let's connect on this.

Real-life example:

However, if they don’t accept a connection request, send them this InMail:

Subject line: {{ProductOrServiceType}} that actually {{benefit}}! 🙂

InMail message template: Hi {{firstName}},

Congrats on {{companyNewsTopic}}. I’ve been following your company for a while now and I think this is a huge deal! Anyways, It would be silly of me to think you’re not using an {{productOrServiceType}} already, but it’s a no-brainer to present something new on the market that actually helps {{Position}} reach {{Result}} specifically. {{shortDescirptionAboutYourProduct/ServiceWithBenefits}}

Let me know if this sounds interesting to you.

Best, {{Your Name}}

Response rate: 20%

Real-life example:

Pitch your product

Some sales professionals prefer to lead with a product or service pitch right from the first touchpoint. 

If that’s your style, these outreach templates can help you do it effectively, with sequences that have driven up to a 67% acceptance rate and 39% response rate.

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

Your profile really caught my attention while I was looking for {{TheTypeofCompanyYouTargeted}} companies. Let’s connect!

Real-life example:

If they accept a connection request, then your following message can sound something like this: 

LinkedIn message template:

Hey {{firstName}},

Thanks for connecting! I am looking for companies that are seeking to improve their {{keyProblemYouAreSolving}}

Did you know that you can achieve {{resultsYourProductProvides}}? I believe {{yourProductOrService}} will be an excellent fit for {{currentCompany}} because {{howYourProductOrServiceHelpsYourClients}}. If this sounds interesting, let’s have a chat! How’s next week?

Real-life example:

However, if they do not accept a connection request, send an InMail with the following call to action:

Subject line: Quick question about {{currentCompany}}

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I am looking for companies seeking to improve their {{keyProblemYouAreSolving}}, and your profile caught my attention.

Did you know that you can achieve {{resultsYourProductProvides}}? I believe {{YourProductOrService}} will be an excellent fit for {{currentCompany}} because {{HowYourProductOrServiceHelpsYourClients}}.

If you agree, let’s connect and have a chat! What do you think about next week?

Best, {{Your Name}}

Real-life example:

Use past client wins

If you want to pitch first, you can also use some case studies of similar companies. This way, you can demonstrate bullet-proof case studies of your best clients, similar to your leads in question.

The following template works especially well when someone hasn’t accepted your LinkedIn invite, and has helped our users generate replies even from cold leads.

Subject line: Swift question - not to shake it off 🙂

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I tried reaching you through LinkedIn, but I guess your account is also overwhelmed with connection requests, ha?

Anyway, the reason I decided to contact you is that I noticed that you work as a {{Position}} at {{currentCompany}}.

We actually were able to help {{RelevantCompany/CaseStudy}} with {{KeyProblemYou’reSolving}}, so I was wondering how you are approaching it at your company.

Worth a convo?

Kind regards, {{Your name}}

Response rate: 35%

Real-life example:

Refer to an event or webinar where you both participated

One of the best LinkedIn cold messages that point out common ground is the one that references a webinar or an event you both attended. Here is how your connection message can sound like:

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I see you are interested in attending the same webinar as I am. I am talking about {{[nameOfTheWebinar}}. I’d like to connect with you and discuss the event topic.

Acceptance: 75%

Real-life example:

After your leads accept a connection request, you can continue the conversation by using the following LinkedIn cold message template and pitch accordingly later on: 

LinkedIn message template:

Thanks for connecting with me, {{firstName}}! So, what are you looking to get from this event?

However, if the lead doesn’t respond to your connection request, you can send an InMail that goes like this:

Subject line: Let’s chat about the upcoming {{[NameOfTheEvent}}

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I hope you don’t mind reaching out directly to your inbox.

I see you are interested in attending the same event as I am - {{[NameOfTheEvent}}.

Maybe you just overlooked the invitation without realizing it, but if that’s not the case, I’d like to connect with you and pick your brain about this interesting upcoming event.

Best regards, {{[Your name}}

Response rate: 47%

Real-life example:

Investor outreach

If you are a startup looking for an investor, your cold LinkedIn message should have a strong CTA. In addition, investors are decision-makers who don’t like to spend time getting the relevant data from you. Instead, you should present it yourself and show the prognosis of ROI right away. 

That said, you can try out this InMail message example that we pre-tested:

Subject line: Invest in our company and get {{Percentage}} ROI in the first year

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I am the founder of {{companyName}}, a company determined to help {{targetAudience}} achieve {{Results}}.

I’ve been following you for a while and noticed you’ve invested in a type of company such as ours. I’ve created a detailed report and estimated that you could earn {{amountOfMoney}} within the first year, with an investment of {{amountOfMoney}} that will cover our 6-month period.

If this interests you, I would love to show you a detailed report and all the calculations over a call.

Best regards, {{Your name}}

Real-life example:

LinkedIn cold message templates for recruiters

If you work as a recruiter in a startup, this would be a perfect cold InMail message example for you.

Subject line: Are you our next {{companyName}} star?

InMail message template:

Hi {{firstName}},

We are {{companyName}}, a team of young people who {{whatYourCompanyDoes}}.

Currently, we are looking for an ambitious person, preferably with the {{Position}} experience and aspirations to grow and develop their career path.

Our team is very successful and fast-developing, and we have multiple sectors where you can further learn and develop your career path. We strive to encourage people who come to our company to contribute their suggestions and propositions to improve their sector and, thus, the company as a whole.

Would you be interested in working in such a young and dynamic team? 🙂

Best, {{Your name}}

Response rate: 65%

Real-life example:

And here is a LinkedIn cold message template for a connection request:

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hey {{firstName}},

I’m HR at {{companyName}}, a team of young people who {{whatYourCompanyDoes}}. We are searching for an ambitious person to fill in our {{Position}} vacancy and aspirations to grow and develop their career.

Real-life example: 

LinkedIn message examples for job seekers

Messaging a recruiter directly

Our Head of Operations, Nikola, says that if you see a hiring manager publishing a job post on LinkedIn, in most cases, it is good to send a connection request to HR. To clarify, this will show that you are serious and proactive and demonstrate initiative. 

That said, here is a template he approved:

Cold LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I’ve noticed you published {{Position}} job post. I’ve been following {{companyName}}, and it’s my dream workplace. So I thought it would be better to send you a message, connect directly, and show you my passion for this role.

Real-life example: 

Cold messaging an employee

This is one of the ways to figure out what the company culture is like and establish a connection with an employee within your desired company. 

LinkedIn connection request:

Hey {{firstName}},

I noticed you work at {{currentCompany}}. How has your experience been in the {{Department}} since you started? I'm searching for job opportunities, and {{currentCompany}} is my #1. I’d like to connect to chat about it.

Real-life example:

And if they respond, you can send a message such as this one to get their referral:

LinkedIn message template:

Thanks for your message, {{firstName}}.

Really appreciate it. On a side note, are you aware that the {{Position}} job listed on {{websiteName}} falls under your department? If not, can you point me to the person usually responsible for recruiting for such roles? I'm considering applying and would like to ensure my application doesn't disappear in the digital chaos.

Real-life example:

Request an informal interview

Sometimes, in your target company, there are no job vacancies that match your expertise. However, that doesn't stop you from messaging their hiring manager and kindly asking for an informal interview. You can test out this template. 

LinkedIn connection request template:

Hi {{firstName}},

I've been following {{currentCompany}} for a while now, and I adore your company culture and achievements. Even though you don't have roles matching my skills, I'd still like to connect and schedule an informal call and present myself in person.

Real-life example:

How to cold message on LinkedIn and get replies

Before sending your first message or LinkedIn connection request to your potential customers, you need to get your outreach strategy straight. This way, you can prepare the ground to generate higher-qualified leads faster. Here are our top tips for doing so. 

Optimize your profile

The first rule to get the best out of your LinkedIn cold message is to optimize your LinkedIn profile. People are more prone to accept a connection request from someone whose entire profile is set up. In other words, you have your:

• Profile and LinkedIn cover image,
• LinkedIn headline,
• Company name,
• LinkedIn summary,
• Education section,
• And LinkedIn URL.

For example, if you are a salesperson, potential customers can check out your LinkedIn profile and see your product/service and what you are all about before accepting a connection request. 

On the other hand, if you are a hiring manager, candidates can take a look at your company name and website. Otherwise, if your profile is not entirely set up, they would mistake you for a fraud. Think of it as the first barrier of defense to prove the validity of your outreach strategy. 

Target the right people - ICP & buyer persona

Both cold emails and LinkedIn connection requests can go down the drain if they are aimed at the wrong target audience. In other words, you need to research and create your Ideal Customer Profile and Buyer Persona. Find out what your ideal company headcount, revenue, or location is. Buyer Persona-wise, figure out what position uses your product/service, whether they are business decision makers or not, and their pain points, so you can tailor your sales pitch. 

If you are a hiring manager, a Persona for each position will be enough. Just make sure to target the correct position, industry, years of experience, and other factors relevant to your job vacancy. 

Lastly, the best way to create these two documents is to analyze your current ideal customers. In other words, find the ones with:

• Highest retention rate and LTV;
• Shortest buying cycle;
• And who would be a referral for your product someplace else.

N.B. Remember that every piece of information in your ICP or Buyer Persona documents needs to be actionable. In other words, create a document with the information you can use for your LinkedIn prospecting or messaging purposes.

Find your leads using LinkedIn filters

Our next piece of advice is to learn how to find your ideal leads. If you are a sales executive, get to the bottom of the ins and outs of the LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters and prospecting hacks. Or find leads outside LinkedIn and trace them back to this social media. And if you are a recruiter, research Recruiter search filters. 

Remember, the goal is to be as narrow as possible so you can find your ideal leads with a high-quality status and shorter close cycles. 

Personalize your cold message

Personalization wins the conversation. Simple as that. The more personalized outreach is, the more people will respond to your LinkedIn connection request, InMail, or even a phone call.

That said, fill your cold outreach messages with personalized points to get their attention, such as:

• First and last name,
• Current company, 
• Position,
• Mutual connection,
• Case studies or posts they shared, 
• Webinar they attended,
• Influencers they follow,
• Or the LinkedIn group they joined.

These are just a few examples of how you can personalize your connection messages or cold emails in general. However, when crafting your first message and even your second, you should always have in mind that you need to offer value and make it all about your prospects. In other words, help yourself with the deeper personalization points such as:

• What are the new customers' main goals, 
• What are their pain points,
• Post they publish,
• Content they created,
• What type of content do they consume?   

These points will help you get a higher response rate. If you don’t want to present your sales pitch or mention pain points right away, you can always send them an interesting article to spark their imagination about your service. 

Don’t forget to end your direct messages with a clear call to action. It can be anything from reading a blog, accepting a LinkedIn connection request, or scheduling an online meeting or a phone call. Nonetheless, try to keep only one call to action per message.

Now, if you really want your message to stand out, remember that a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s why many of our users take personalization a step further by adding personalized images or GIFs to their outreach.

With Skylead, you can insert visuals personalized with your and your lead’s profile photo, company logo, and text with variables. 

Want to see our image and GIF personalization in action? Here’s a video that shows you exactly how it works!

And believe it or not, we managed to amp up our response rate to 76% using it!

Choose to use it yourself, and sooner than later, you may be in a similar situation to our client, Michael Gonzalez, who said:

“We are currently generating 320 bookings, but that's not a limit.’’

Send your cold message, including InMail

LinkedIn users have not one, but three formats they can use to connect with someone on LinkedIn - connection requests, direct message after invite acceptance, and InMails. These two formats are the main ones for the initial contact with potential customers and candidates.

To clarify, InMails are like cold emails but on LinkedIn. You can write your own subject line and have 8K characters available as opposed to a connection request (300 characters). Moreover, you can send InMails to people outside your professional network only if you have a paid LinkedIn subscription. 

Types of InMails & benefits

You can send paid and free InMails. The number of paid InMails you can send depends on your LinkedIn subscription. For example, if you paid for LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you have 50 monthly credits. On the other hand, if you paid for Recruiter Lite, you get 30 InMail credits and 100-150 credits for a Recruiter subscription. Lastly, LinkedIn Premium offers only 15 InMail credits per month.

Contrary to paid InMails, you can send up to 800 free ones, but only to those LinkedIn users who have set their profile to the Open profile status. 

That said, make sure to leverage InMail format as a part of your outreach strategy because of the 3 reasons:

• You can contact people who are your 2nd and 3rd-degree connections without sending a connection request;
• You have more characters available than in connection requests, so you can focus on pain points and a better CTA;
• It's a great alternative if your connection request is pending and you'd like to send a direct message straight to the decision-maker's inbox. 

Lastly, you can use the LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software, Skylead, to automate sending InMails. Skylead is unique on the market because it allows our users to send both paid and free InMails.

Follow up

Salespeople often perceive follow-up messages as pushy and a thing that can drive their leads away. Therefore, 70% of them do not send any follow-ups. However, a lesser-known fact is that if you send a follow-up, you automatically increase the chance of hearing back from your lead by 25%. 

However, if you know how to write a follow-up email after no response or a LinkedIn message, you can increase these chances even more. 

That said, our advice is to research how to write the best follow-ups out there and never miss sending them. 

Here is, according to our experience, the best advice for crafting follow-ups. Depending on the format, a follow-up should be short and focus on at least 2 of the following:

• Catchy subject line;
• Context;
• Value (case studies, solution to pain points);
• CTA. 

Thus, here is one follow-up message that is led by the above-mentioned points.

Subject line: Any thoughts?

Follow-up InMail template:

Hey {{firstName}},

Just checking in to see if you got any thoughts on exploring what {{nameOfYourCompany}} could do for {{theirCompany}}?

We worked with Companies similar to yours, such as:

- {{Company1}}

- {{Company2}}

- {{Company3}}

If you give me a chance for a call to show you, just this once, how other {{ProspectsPosition}} have used this solution to {{smallBenefit}}, I promise we can part ways if you are not impressed. Just let me know when is the best time for you. Anyway, love what you are doing with {{theirCompany}}.

Best, {{Your name}}

Response rate: 27%

Real-life example:

Scale through automation

By now, you’ve seen what works. 

But what if you could automate every single step in your outreach flows, from connection requests and LinkedIn cold messages, to InMails and emails, all while tracking responses in real time?

That’s exactly what Skylead does!

This LinkedIn automation and cold email software helps startups and agencies, sales teams, recruiters, marketers, and alike automate lead generation tasks, such as sending:

• cold emails, 
• connection requests, 
• InMails, 
• and LinkedIn direct messages,  

depending on their leads' behavior. 

To show you just how Skylead follows leads' behavior, let's go through creating one of the outreach sequences using it!

LinkedIn cold outreach campaign

First, choose your lead source, a.k.a. where Skylead will pull the leads from, and insert the source. 

For the sake of this blog, we will select the LinkedIn search results and paste the URL to it. 

Don't forget to choose the type of connection if available. 

Secondly, set up your campaign settings, including your email, LinkedIn, and global settings.

As part of email settings, you can add unlimited mailboxes (email accounts) to send tens of thousands of emails a month at no extra cost. 

You can also create a campaign schedule and set up email tracking in terms of clicks and open emails.

LinkedIn settings let you decide if you’d like to reach out only to those with Premium LinkedIn profiles or Open profiles. You can also set Skylead to collect publicly available information, as well as refresh search and automatically remove leads who haven’t accepted your invites.

In terms of global campaign settings, you’ve got the option to:

• Include leads that replied to your messages
• Include leads found in other campaigns
• Discover new leads only

This is also where you decide on your campaign start date and time.

Now, this is where the fun begins. Meet our Smart sequence, a groundbreaking algorithm that allows you to use multichannel outreach and personalize messages at scale. 

The secret to why the Smart sequences are so powerful lies in the If/else conditions that you can set after each action and let Skylead follow your lead’s behavior and perform actions accordingly.

Here’s what our client, Daniel H., had to say about them:

‘’I like Smart Sequences and the fact that you can combine everything in one funnel…If/else conditions are the most beneficial.’’

Now, to create a Smart sequence, drag and drop actions and conditions, and connect them.

Once you do, write down personalized messages using variables such as first name, company name, and so on. 

For example, here is how your LinkedIn cold message, a.k.a. connection request, can look like:

Keep in mind that if you want to personalize your messaging even more, you can always create a CSV file with custom variables and upload it as the lead source.

Here’s a video that explains just how you can do it:

Once a lead responds to your message, the sequence will stop for that lead, and you can see all the messages from all the platforms collected and available in our Smart Inbox. This way, you can continue the conversation without navigating between the platforms. What’s more, you can even label your leads with tags to calculate conversions and ROI.

And that is the magic of Skylead. 😊 

Frequently asked questions

1. How do these cold message strategies vary in effectiveness across different regions or cultures?

Cold message strategies' effectiveness can vary significantly across different regions or cultures due to varying communication norms and expectations. Tailoring your approach to reflect an understanding of cultural nuances and preferences in communication can greatly enhance receptivity and engagement.

2. What are the long-term follow-up strategies if the initial cold messages receive positive responses?

Long-term follow-up strategies should focus on building a genuine relationship with the recipient. This involves regularly sharing relevant content, updates, and opportunities that add value, maintaining a balance between staying in touch and respecting the recipient's space and interest level.

3. Are there any case studies or success stories of businesses that have significantly benefited from using these specific LinkedIn cold message templates?

Yes. We have a vast library of outreach templates that use these messages, and by examining each type of outreach sequence, you can see other results in addition to the response rate we've stated here.

4. Is it better to cold email or cold message on LinkedIn? 

Cold emails have an average of 3% reply rate, while InMail’s is 18-25%. So, cold messages on LinkedIn are better. But it also depends on your target audience and their preferred channel. So, to maximize getting in touch with every lead possible, you should reach out using both channels.

5. What is a good first message on LinkedIn? 

“Hey {{firstName}}, I loved your post about {{Topic}}, so I wanted to connect and chat.” Or you can use a humorous approach with personalization: “What’s a marketer’s favorite drink? Brand-y. Just kidding, {{firstName}}, saw that you are also part of the {{GroupName}} group. Hope we can learn from each other!”

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