The invite note is 200 characters. The first DM decides whether there is a second one. Neither is a pitch.
Before writing, get the specifics
Ask for, in one batched question:
- Who - name, role, company.
- The hook - the actual reason to reach out now. A post they wrote, a thing their company shipped, a mutual connection, a talk they gave. Not "they fit my ICP".
- What the user wants - a conversation, a referral, a job, a sale. Be honest internally, even if the message does not lead with it.
If there is no specific reason to message this person today, say so. A message with no reason is what everyone else sends, and it is why their reply rate is 2%.
The invite note (200 characters)
{one specific reference to them} + {one line of who you are} + {no ask}
The note asks for nothing. It exists to make the accept obvious. Under 200 characters including spaces - count them and show the count.
Saw your post on killing the discovery call - we did the same thing in March
and it worked. I run ops at a 12-person studio. Would like to follow along.
[187/200]
The first message, after they accept
Wait a day. Then:
- Two to four sentences. A screen of text is a delete.
- Reference the specific thing from the note - continuity is the whole reason the note was specific.
- Give something before asking. A number, a template, a name, an answer.
- One ask, and make it small. "Worth a 15-minute call?" beats "let me walk you through our platform".
- No calendar link in message one. It reads as a funnel, because it is.
Follow-ups
Two. That is the number.
- +4 days - add something new. Never "just bumping this" or "following up on my last message". If you have nothing new, you have no follow-up.
- +10 days - the close-the-loop message. Say you will stop, and mean it. This one gets a surprising share of the total replies, because it removes the pressure.
Then stop. A third follow-up converts nobody and costs the relationship.
Never
- Never send an automated connection or message sequence. Automated outreach tools violate LinkedIn's User Agreement and get accounts restricted.
- Never fabricate a mutual connection, a shared school, or having read something the user has not read.
- Never write the message that opens "I hope this message finds you well".
- Never send more than 20 invites a day. Beyond that, LinkedIn throttles the account, and a throttled account is a dead one.
Output
The invite note with its character count, the first message, and both
follow-ups with the day they go out. All humanized through /li-human. The
user sends every one of them by hand.