LinkedIn Connection Request Messages: What to Write
A LinkedIn connection request has one job: get accepted. The note is optional, it only sends from a premium seat, and blank requests perform fine. So no note is the default, not the fallback. If you do write one, keep it under 280 characters, make every variable part a merge tag, and put no pitch and no link in it.
Run it when: building any connect-flow campaign.
Time: 15 minutes, and most of that is deciding not to write a note.
Last reviewed September 2026.
Before you write the request
The ICP one-liner
Knowing whether the sending account is premium, because it decides everything below
A profile that survives being clicked on
How to write a LinkedIn connection request
1. Check the seat before writing a word.
Connection notes only send from premium LinkedIn accounts. On a basic seat the note silently does not go, so if the sender is basic, there is no note to write and this SOP takes two minutes.
2. Default to no note.
This surprises people. Blank requests perform fine, they do not look like a pitch, and Reachium's standard campaign flow deliberately sends none. The note is the exception you justify, not the default you fill in.
3. If you do write one, keep it to 280 characters.
LinkedIn allows 300; leave yourself margin. One soft reason to connect, nothing else. No pitch, no offer, no link, no question that requires homework to answer.
4. Write it as a template, because it is one.
This note goes to hundreds of people. The only things that change per person are merge tags: first name, company, position, headline, location. Never write static text that assumes knowledge of one specific prospect, like a post they wrote. That kind of line is possible, but it comes from a per-lead AI tag, which is SOP 12, How to Personalize LinkedIn Messages at Scale.
5. Delete the opener everyone else uses.
"I came across your profile." "Hope you're doing well." "Impressed by your journey." These arrive in every inbox twenty times a week and mark the message as bulk before the second line.
Also out: emojis, exclamation marks, em dashes, and the word leverage.
6. Remember the profile does most of the work.
Most people decide by looking at who you are, not by reading the note. A headline that names their problem outperforms any 280 characters you could write. If acceptance is low and the note is clean, the profile is the thing to fix.
7. Respect the ceiling.
25 connection requests per account per day, hard. If the plan needs more, it needs more senders, not a bigger number. See SOP 03.
8. Run the humanize test.
Read it as the recipient. Would you believe a busy person typed this? If the line could appear in a thousand automated messages, it will be read as one.
Connection requests: do this, not this
Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
Send with no note by default | Assume a note always helps |
Check the seat is premium before writing one | Write a note that never sends from a basic seat |
280 characters, one soft reason | 300 characters of positioning |
Merge tags for the only variable parts | Static text about "your recent post" |
Fix the headline when acceptance is low | Rewrite the note for the fourth time |
One sentence per line | A paragraph |
Plain words | "Leverage", "synergy", "game-changer" |
If you write a note, the shape
Hi {{first_name}}, I work with {{position}}s in [industry] on [the one problem].
Thought it was worth connecting.Two lines. No ask, no link, no hook. The ask lives in Message 1, after they have already said yes.
Questions people ask
Should I add a note to a LinkedIn connection request?
Usually not. Blank requests perform fine and do not read as a pitch, and a note only sends at all from a premium seat. Treat the note as the exception you justify rather than the field you feel obliged to fill.
How long can a LinkedIn connection request note be?
LinkedIn allows 300 characters. Write to 280 so you have margin. One soft reason to connect and nothing else: no offer, no link, no question that needs homework to answer.
How do I automate LinkedIn connection requests?
Attach a lead list to a connect-flow campaign, write the note as a template with merge tags for the parts that vary, and let it send inside the daily cap. Twenty-five per account per day, and more volume comes from more sender accounts.
Why is my connection request acceptance rate low?
If the note is clean, the profile is the problem. Most people decide by looking at who you are, not by reading the note. A headline that names the reader's problem outperforms any 280 characters you could write.
You are done when
The decision about a note is deliberate, not accidental
If there is a note, it is under 280 characters and contains no pitch and no link
Every variable part is a merge tag and the copy reads well if a value is missing
No cliche openers, no emojis, no exclamation marks
Daily volume fits inside the 25-per-account ceiling
It passes the humanize test out loud
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