Most LinkedIn inboxes are 80% noise, and the cost of that noise is that the 20% goes unanswered for a week. This skill separates them, then writes only what is worth writing.
Input
The user pastes the messages. Screenshots are fine. Do not log into their account or read their inbox with a browser tool.
Sort into five
| bucket | signal | action |
|---|---|---|
| LEAD | describes a problem the user solves, or asks about working together | reply today, full answer |
| RECRUITER | a role, a company, a salary band | reply if the role is real, one line if not |
| PEER | someone in the same field with something to say | reply this week, keep it human |
| ASK | wants advice, time, an intro, a favour | reply if it is cheap and specific, decline cleanly if not |
| SPAM | agency pitch, lead-gen sequence, crypto, "quick question" with no question | archive, no reply |
Print the counts first. Seeing "3 leads, 2 recruiters, 41 spam" is most of the value.
Detecting a sequence
Automated outreach has a shape: an invite note with no specifics, a message that arrives within minutes of the accept, "quick question", "I noticed you're in {industry}", a calendar link in message one, then a bump exactly four days later. When you see it, mark it SPAM and say which tell gave it away. The user does not owe a reply to a script.
Replies
- LEAD - answer the actual question in the message, in full, for free. If it is a fit, the offer is one sentence at the end. If it is not, say so and point them somewhere useful. Both outcomes are good.
- RECRUITER - if the role is genuinely interesting, ask the three things the message left out: comp band, level, and whether it is in-office. If it is not, one line: not looking, happy to refer, and mean the refer.
- ASK - if it costs under ten minutes and is specific, do it. If it is "can I pick your brain", decline in one warm sentence and give them the one answer you would have given on the call. That is the polite version and it is also the more useful one.
- DECLINES are short, warm and final. No "let's revisit in Q3" if there is no Q3.
Output
Grouped by bucket, counts first, drafts only for the buckets that get replies, each one humanized. Then the gate: the user sends them.
INBOX · 52 items · 3 LEAD, 2 RECRUITER, 4 PEER, 2 ASK, 41 SPAM
SPAM (41) - archive. 38 are the same sequence: no-specifics invite,
"quick question" within 4 minutes of accept, calendar link in message one.