Writing an InMail
What it does: earns a reply from someone who is not connected to you, has never heard of you, and did not accept anything.
Run it when: the audience is open-profile, or a connection request has gone unanswered and InMail is the fallback.
Time: 30 minutes.
Before you start
A decision on free versus paid sends, and a daily cap if paid is on
An open-profile list, if this is a free InMail campaign
One honest, specific line of relevance to the audience
The steps
1. Know where InMail sits.
Connection requests are the proven primary channel. Free InMails to open profiles are a strong second and worth testing. Paid InMails come third. InMail is an option to test, not the default motion, and anyone who tells you it replaces connecting is selling something.
2. Get the economics right before you write.
Free InMails only reach open-profile recipients, which is why the list gets split by open-profile status first. Paid InMails consume credits on every send, are off by default, and need an explicit decision plus a daily cap. Decide the number before you turn it on.
3. Write the subject in three to eight words.
Curiosity or specific relevance. No clickbait. No fake "Re:" framing, which is the single fastest way to be marked as spam. No emojis. "Quick question?" alone is not a subject line, it is a shrug.
4. Keep the body between 40 and 90 words.
Readable on a phone in ten seconds, each idea on its own line. There is far more room in the field than you should use.
5. Open with their name and one honest line of relevance.
Something specific about their world that proves you know who you are writing to. Never claim a mutual connection, a referral or a prior conversation that does not exist. In a cold InMail there is no thread to lean on, so invented familiarity stands out immediately.
6. One sentence on what you do, as a benefit.
Not a feature list. Not three clauses. The reader is deciding whether to care, not evaluating a product.
7. Close with a soft question.
A short conversation, not a sale. Same rule as everywhere else: the goal is a reply.
8. If this is the fallback after an ignored request, write it as a first touch.
When InMail follows an unaccepted connection request a few days later, the prospect almost certainly never saw the request. Never reference it. "I tried connecting last week" tells them they ignored you and starts the message with an accusation.
The shape
Subject: {{company}}'s outbound setup
{{first_name}}, most sales teams your size are running outreach from one seat and hitting a ceiling at about 25 sends a day.
We help teams get past that without adding headcount.
Worth a short conversation about how you are handling it now?Do this / Not this
Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
3 to 8 word subject | "Re: our conversation" |
40 to 90 word body | A full page because InMail allows it |
One honest relevance line | An invented mutual connection |
One benefit sentence | A feature list |
Write the fallback as a first touch | "I tried connecting last week" |
Paid InMail with a decided cap | Paid InMail left uncapped |
Split the list for open profiles first | Send free InMails to people who cannot receive them |
Done when
Free or paid is decided, and paid has a cap
The audience actually matches the send type
Subject is 3 to 8 words with no clickbait or fake reply framing
Body is 40 to 90 words, one idea per line
Nothing in it claims a relationship that does not exist
No reference to an unaccepted connection request
CTA is a question
