{"id":3052,"date":"2019-10-07T10:46:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T15:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.kmbrian.com\/?p=3052"},"modified":"2020-12-04T12:03:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T18:03:13","slug":"linkedin-prospecting-messages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/linkedin-prospecting-messages\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write High-Converting LinkedIn Cold Messages"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is nothing more important than being able to clearly and concisely communicate your message to your customers.<\/p>\n

Well, except for one thing: being able to communicate your message in an effective way<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many business owners and sales professionals treat cold emailing and LinkedIn messaging in the same way. They copy and paste their cold emails into a LinkedIn message and expect to achieve the same results.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, approaching two very different channels with one very narrow strategy is not an effective way to generate new leads.<\/p>\n

At my company, Lead Cookie<\/a>, we have run over 250+ Linkedin outreach campaigns for all sorts of different businesses. Our goal with this post is to share everything we have learned so that you can generate quality leads for your business.<\/p>\n

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LinkedIn Messages vs. Cold Emails<\/h2>\n

Before diving into my best tips for writing high-converting LinkedIn prospecting<\/a> messages, I want to address two major differences between LinkedIn messages and cold emails.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn is like texting<\/h3>\n

First of all, LinkedIn messages open in a small chat window, so your prospect will need to scroll to read any message longer than a few sentences.<\/p>\n

For example, notice the message below. It\u2019s so long you can\u2019t even read the start of the message. This is a quick way to have someone immediately ignore your messages.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Not only will it annoy the prospect to have to put in more than minimal time and effort to read a message from someone they don\u2019t already have a relationship with, but it will also lead them to immediately view your message as \u2018spammy\u2019. They\u2019re also likely to miss the hook because they\u2019ll want to jump straight to the end of your message.<\/p>\n

Think about LinkedIn messages like text messages – you wouldn\u2019t text someone long chunks of text at a time. Don\u2019t do it on LinkedIn either.<\/p>\n

Be careful sending links<\/h3>\n

Secondly, while embedding links in an email is easy and effective, doing so on LinkedIn can yield much different results.<\/p>\n

When you include a link in a LinkedIn message, LinkedIn automatically expands that link into a massive thumbnail that takes up the prospect\u2019s entire screen. This is a horrible experience for the prospect as it, again, results in the need to scroll to read your entire message.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t to say you should never<\/em> include a link in your LinkedIn messages, but you should be very intentional<\/em> about doing so.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re unsure how your message will look to a prospect, you can use this LinkedIn post inspector tool<\/a> to preview your post before sending.<\/p>\n

Now that you understand why LinkedIn messages should be treated differently from cold emails, here are 11 tips for writing high-converting LinkedIn prospecting messages:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Shorter is better.<\/li>\n
  2. Focus on your prospect, not on yourself.<\/li>\n
  3. Follow the \u201c4 touch points\u201d rule.<\/li>\n
  4. Clearly communicate your value proposition.<\/li>\n
  5. Show social proof<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  6. Include a case study.<\/li>\n
  7. Offer a resource.<\/li>\n
  8. Share your portfolio.<\/li>\n
  9. Clean up your data.<\/li>\n
  10. Get personal.<\/li>\n
  11. Create an omnichannel follow up sequence.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Tip #1: Shorter is better<\/h3>\n

    Our mantra at Lead Cookie<\/a> is \u201ckeep it short.\u201d<\/p>\n

    If a prospect needs to decide whether they want to read your message, then it\u2019s too long. Make your message so short that your prospect will see it and read it right away as soon as they open it.<\/p>\n

    The goal with your initial outreach isn\u2019t to dump every bit of information about your product or service offering onto your prospect. Rather, all you need to do with your initial message is get your prospect to raise their hand and express an interest in receiving more information from you.<\/p>\n

    Your initial outreach message should never be more than three sentences long. A good format to follow is: \u201cWe can do X for Y for people like you. We\u2019ve gotten Z results. Call to action.\u201d Plug in your own information for X, Y, and Z, and you\u2019ve got yourself a clear and concise message that no one will need to think twice about reading.<\/p>\n

    Tip #2: Focus on your prospect, not on yourself\"\"<\/h3>\n

    One big mistake I see business owners make in their LinkedIn prospecting messages is starting every sentence with \u201cI\u201d and focusing on themselves rather than on the prospect.<\/p>\n

    In fact, 95% of LinkedIn pitches are just that – pitches. They\u2019re only focused on themselves and not on the prospect.<\/p>\n

    Instead of being super \u201cme\u201d focused, try to frame your message toward the prospect. Lead with something like, \u201cHey Dan, your profile caught my eye\u2026\u201d or \u201cYour business is really interesting, Emily.\u201d<\/p>\n

    By framing your message toward the prospect, you are communicating to them that your objective in reaching out is to help them<\/em> and not you<\/em>. Focus on your customer\u2019s pain points, and, as a result, you\u2019ll be able to generate 10x more leads than focusing on yourself.<\/p>\n

    Tip #3: Follow the \u201c4 touch points\u201d rule<\/h3>\n

    Another common mistake I see business owners make when sending LinkedIn prospecting messages is giving up after not receiving a response after their first or second message.<\/p>\n

    What I always recommend to my clients is the \u201c4 touch points\u201d rule. Until you receive a response from a prospect, you should aim to make four touch points with your prospect over a period of 1-2 months.<\/p>\n

    Here\u2019s an example of what a 4 touch point sequence might look like:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Send an initial message on LinkedIn.<\/li>\n
    2. Once the prospect accepts your message, send a follow up message within 24 hours.<\/li>\n
    3. If you don\u2019t receive a response, send another message in 1-2 weeks. Try to approach this message from another angle, such as offering a free resource.<\/li>\n
    4. If you still don\u2019t receive a response, send one final message about one month after your previous message. Try to approach this message from yet another angle. For example, you can try to get them on a free consultation call with you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The goal of the \u201c4 touch points\u201d rule is to be persistent without being spammy. It\u2019s also a safe number of messages to send without getting flagged as spam by LinkedIn and having a hold put on your account.<\/p>\n

      Tip #4: Clearly communicate your value proposition<\/h3>\n

      <\/p>\n

      As you can see from the visual above, value proposition, social proof, and strategic messaging all play a role in helping you achieve massive results from LinkedIn. Let\u2019s break it down:<\/p>\n