14 Best LinkedIn Connection Request Templates For Guaranteed Acceptance

‍Introduction

LinkedIn is the hotbed and place to be in if you're looking to grow your B2B business. Members can use the site to build professional networks, find jobs, hire employees, earn certification and skills, and contact other members. The products made some major leaps and changes from 2014 to now where its at the forefront of social media

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LinkedIn is by far the world's largest professional social network. It's a social utility used to connect workers and employers in professional relationships. But wait, there's more. LinkedIn has created its own ecosystem filled with niche-focused services, as well as its own app store filled with good, fun, and high-quality business, career, and networking tools. I have my own views on the app, but in the end we’re there for the connections

What is LinkedIn? 

Are you looking to make networking as simple as possible and be able to connect with the right people instantly nowadays? Well, if you are, then LinkedIn is the ultimate networking platform for you! LinkedIn is the online equivalent of the business card, where you can have a summary of yourself and your education, work experience, and personal information, such as an address, phone number, and email.

Why is LinkedIn important?

LinkedIn, allows you to stay in touch and sync with the other professionals around you. LinkedIn can help you find better opportunities and allows you to maximize your potential as a professional. And these days be a serious lead gen system if you’re looking to grow your company or acquire new leads. Interact with CEOs of massive companies and get deals that would take 8x longer if you were doing this in the early 2010s

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Part of what LinkedIn offers is real-life connections with other professionals. Using LinkedIn can help you adapt to a working world that is becoming increasingly global. LinkedIn can be used in this sense by connecting with a different part of the world and discovering new career possibilities. With over 400 million members, LinkedIn can connect you to new opportunities across the globe.

What is a LinkedIn connection request? 

LinkedIn users use this request form to ask a potential person to accept their request to connect.

In networking, a connection request is an invitation to another LinkedIn user to request or approve a connection between their LinkedIn profile and yours. LinkedIn connection requests often include a private message from the inviting party stating why they want to connect on LinkedIn.

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Effectively writing a contact request message on LinkedIn can help you connect with more people. Many LinkedIn members approach connection requests as a numbers game and send out requests to people who don't certainly know or care about what you do. The majority of those people probably won't accept your connection request. You can calculate the connection rate of LinkedIn outreach using the Connection strategy.

Did you know that over 500,000 new LinkedIn connections made every day? If you want to grow your LinkedIn network, you need to start sending better connection request messages. A good connection request message can make sure a potential connection accepts your request. Here's how to write a better LinkedIn connection request message.

How to write a LinkedIn connection request message?

LinkedIn is all about connections. Your profile's success relies on how well you connect with other people. That's why you should keep your LinkedIn profile updated, your profile photo should be professional, your summary is well-written, and your connections should be diverse. As well, you should be in touch with your contacts. You should know when someone updates their profile, joins a group, and accepts new connections.

It is estimated that over 50% of Fortune 500 companies have LinkedIn profiles. This makes getting your business on LinkedIn a critical task. You can find job candidates, event partnerships, and potential business leads through LinkedIn.

But if you want to use LinkedIn to generate leads, you have to learn how to write a connection request message that converts.

Tips to customize LinkedIn connection request messages

Here are some tips to help you write a customized introduction note efficiently. 

1. Who should you connect with?

Only connect with people you know or want to know as sending generic requests to random people on LinkedIn can backfire. If many people who receive your request indicate that they don't know you, your profile could be banned.

2. Introduce yourself

Always include a quick introduction about who you are and what you do. 

3. Mention how you found them

It is essential to mention how you came across their profile. You could have met the person at a networking event or when simply searching for specific industry professionals. But saying how you found them is an excellent way to capture their interest. 

4. Connect on common ground

Connect with like-minded people. Look at their profile for any shared interests, academic institutions, employers, mutual connections, and use that as an ice-breaker in your connection request message.

Tips: 

• Also, you can check their social media profile or LinkedIn posts to learn more about them. Build a warm connection by liking, retweeting, or commenting on their posts. You may use that as a talking point in your connection request message.
• If you have mutual connections, then you can ask any one of them to make an introduction.

5. Be clear about your intention to connect.

Are you seeking professional advice, wanting to know more about their work, or find employment opportunities at their company? Outlining your intentions in the connection request may help set expectations.

6. Next steps

If your connection request is accepted, make sure to keep the conversation by sending a quick message, maybe a thank you note. You can also ask them for a coffee chat. The more people you reach and talk to, the faster you'll learn about work and industry best practices. 

Remember the five P's in a request,

• Polite
• Personalized
• Pertinent
• Professional
• Praiseful 

The don'ts of LinkedIn connection message:

You can avoid common mistakes in a connection request message by following the strategies below,

• Do not send a connection request without a personalized message.
• Do not send a connection request that looks like a sales pitch (e.g., trying to pitch your products or services).
• Do not ask for a favor. The relationship can't support that yet.
• Do not humblebrag about the number of connections you have.
• Do not babble about yourself or share your life story (be concise and precise).
• Never use the default message for connections. Personalization helps improve the trust and relationship between connections.

Here are the 14 best LinkedIn connection request templates for your cold pitch

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1. A Colleague

Everyone loves the feeling when their contributions have been noticed, so make sure to mention co-workers' projects, interests, or strengths. It is a good way to give your colleagues a boost and strengthen your professional connections. It may even be the prompt they need to endorse you or write you an excellent LinkedIn recommendation.

Hi Kevin,

Though I've never gotten the chance to work with you directly, I've heard great reviews about your sales techniques and experience working with challenging clients. Hopefully, someday, I can see you at work! Until then, I'll catch you in the break room.

Best,

Allen

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2. A New Colleague

You will want to be less familiar if you are connecting with people you have just met. Say you landed a role with a tech company and you want to connect with your manager. You should still compliment her and show you are familiar with what she does, and be a little more reserved.

Dear Hannah,

I am so excited to join the product development department. The entire team's innovation and commitment to always finding the best testing methodologies is one reason I was so drawn to work at Facebook. I am looking forward to contributing.

Best,

Tom

3. A Former Co-worker

You would assume everyone you had ever worked with you would remember you, but if you worked at a big firm and you had the job only for a year or two, or if it was a long while ago, you might find your LinkedIn connection requests being denied. There is an easy fix; describe precisely when, where, and how you worked with someone.

Dear Ryan,

It was such a great pleasure working together at IBM from 2001 to 2003. Your mainframe troubleshooting skills were the best in the office. Can you imagine if we had to go back to working on those large computers? If you have the chance, I'd like to catch up and learn more about what you're doing in your new role at Google.

Best,

Alisha

4. Someone You Know Casually

It may seem quite awkward to personalize a connection request to Mike, a friend of a friend you talked to at a couple of get-togethers. The last time you met each other, you were swigging beers. Won't it feel weird to slip into work-speak?

Yes, so don't! You can use a friendly tone, but refer to Dou's career to acknowledge you're not at a party, but you're on LinkedIn.

Hey Doug,

I'm glad Mathew introduced us. The next time we run into each other, you will have to tell me more about what you do for Mercedes Benz. I've always been interested in the automobile industry.

Cheers,

Mike

5. Someone You Met at a Networking Event

When you are trying to connect with people you have only talked to for a couple of minutes or hours, you must remind them right away who you are. Give a reason for the conversation as well.

Dear Liam,

It was good speaking to you at the X International Conference in UAE last week. The mapping and charting works you do for the airports sounded interesting! I would definitely like to stay up-to-date on your work.

Thank you,

Tim

6. Someone You Admire

Sending connection requests to complete strangers is always complicated because their first instinct is to say no. Though it is important to immediately establish who you are and why you are reaching out. Prove you are not just on a hunt to break 500 connections by specifically referencing projects they've worked on or achievements they've made.

Dear Nick,

I am a college senior interested in working in sales and marketing. For the last year, I have been following your work for Brick & Associates, and it really impressed me. I loved your recent campaign in The Atlantic; that multimedia component was totally unexpected and really effective. If you ever have 10 or so minutes, I would love to hear more about your field and what skills you believe are relevant to the profession.

Thank you,

Mark

7. Someone in the Same LinkedIn Group

Maybe you are in the Marketing group, and you notice one frequent profile always posts unique insights and relevant articles. The fact you are in the same group might give him an automatic reason to accept.

Dear Henry,

I am also in the Marketing group, and I have enjoyed reading your posts. The piece you shared about the future of data journalism was pretty thought-provoking. I would love to keep in touch and learn more about your work.

Thank you,

Amanda

8. A Recruiter

In general, you should contact recruiters with whom you have something in common, that can be a mutual connection, membership in the same LinkedIn group, or participation in a professional organization.

Dear Lauren,

I found your profile on the Society of Professional Women page and wanted to reach out to discuss potentially working together. I am a content strategist with five years of experience and currently seeking new opportunities. 

I would love to talk about whether my professional background might fit any of your openings, and I would also be happy to connect you with other professionals in my field.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Jamie A

9. An Alumnus

Most people feel fond of their alma mater, which means your request has a good chance of being successful. Show that you spent more than 20 seconds on their LinkedIn profile before you clicked "Connect."

Dear Jonathan,

I see that you had graduated from my current university, NYU! I am an automobile engineering major and would be excited to hear more about your work with Mercedes Benz. I will be in your area in a few weeks for vacation; if you have any free time, I would like to meet up for coffee.

Thanks so much,

Lindsey

P.S. Did you watch the game against UC Berkeley? That last quarter was so tense.

10. Someone You Want to Work With

Perhaps you are trying to get a side project off the ground, and you want to hire a graphic designer. Or maybe you are a software engineer looking to collaborate with someone who is experienced in a particular coding language. If you're seeking to enhance your coding skills or seeking guidance, platforms like Altcademy, known for offering one of the best coding bootcamps, could be immensely helpful.

The key is making it explicitly clear the kind of relationship you are seeking. If they are not interested, you will want to know right away so you can move on to the next potential partner or strategic partner.

Dear Kelly,

I was impressed by the social media strategy you put together for Bella's Modern Coffee Shop. Also, I am a small business owner, and I am interested in hiring you for a similar project. If you are interested, let me know, so we can arrange a phone call to discuss the timeline, rates, scope, etc.

Looking forward to possibly working with you,

Rebecca

11. How to connect with an academic

If you are pursuing mentorship or want to grow your 2nd-degree connections by adding a scholar with an excellent reputation, be sure to mention your appreciation of their work with a specific course and why you are contacting them. It is a good idea to talk about your educational background and other relevant academic credentials that add value to your profile. It proves that accepting your request is worth the effort.

Dear Professor Tony,

I find your work/ or research on the subject of Nuclear Physics inspiring as I am writing my Master's thesis in the Associated Field. I would appreciate it if you could offer me guidance and answer a few quest

ions about your research and professional engagements.

Sincerely, 

Chris

12. Generate leads

If you are a marketer trying to generate leads through a LinkedIn connection request, this template will help you create a compelling connection request message,

Hello Michael,

I have been following your work with Brick & Associates for some time and was impressed to hear about the recent awareness campaign you've done.

I've worked with companies like Atlassian to bring similar projects to life, and if you are open to it, I'd love to discuss it. Do you've five minutes for a quick phone call sometime this week?

Thank you,

Brandon

13. Connect With Your Prospect

LinkedIn, a social network for professionals, can be used to connect with celebrities and influencers. They will be glad to hear your comments about something they created that you think is valuable. Also, talk about their products or services that helped you personally.

And in the end, do not forget to follow up a day after connection acceptance. You can write an excellent follow-up in SmartWriter. It will improve your acceptance rate additionally.

Hi Jonathan,

I just finished reading your article on Supply chain management, and you caught my attention there! Especially the part with Sales and Operation planning. Keep it up! It would be great to stay in touch with you. Should we connect and continue this convo?

Thank you,

Patricia

14. Financial advisor message

You can talk about your financial life if you’re connecting with financial professionals or potential partners.

Hello Kane,

I have been following your work for a while and really appreciate what you have done, so I endorsed you for investments and analytics. As a financial advisor who works with several clients, perhaps there is a way I can send some business your way.

Do you've five minutes for a quick phone call sometime this week?

Thank you,

Mike

How to create a custom connection request

If you want to have valuable connections on LinkedIn, you need to send a personalized connection request to people you would like to connect with. You can do it easily with a tool where you can create request message templates.

SmartWriter - The easiest way to do personalised outreach at scale

SmartWriter is a solid AI tool that will help you rocket past any competition and stand out in your prospects request list. Smartwriter takes 20 minutes of research, multiple tabs and going down a rabbit hole and converts it to 1 click and 5 seconds. It is quick and easy to use and the results from customers have been amazing. With SmartWriter, you can create an engaging connection request template in no time. 

To do so, follow the steps below,

Step 1 - Sign in to your SmartWriter account or Sign up to create one.

Step 2 - Create a project using the create project available on the tool.

Step 3 - Select Compose Copy and choose the category as Personalised LinkedIn Outreach.

Step 4 - Enter the profile details of the person with who you want to connect. Find the LI_AT token from the LinkedIn website and upload their respective CSV file or the Linked URL. 

To learn more about LI_AT token and its use, Try the LinkedIn course material.

Step 5 - Click on Generate Custom Message to get the desired outputs.

Step 6 - Use the output generated to send a LinkedIn connection request that’s shown acceptance rates above 80%.

Step 7 - You can also edit the details and generate a new set of templates by clicking on the Edit Prompt & Try Again.

Conclusion

LinkedIn is an awesome network for building connections with professional and career experts. To connect with potential prospects on LinkedIn is not easy as they may receive hundreds of requests from people. To grab their attention, you need an engaging connection request message instead of a default connection message. Always remember, a bad connection message actually performs worse than the default or blank connection message.

SmartWriter is a perfect product to create more personalized connection request messages that leads to meaningful conversations, without spending hours on prospecting. You can also use it for Email discovery, instant email verification with mass emails, and more.