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Hello You! Are you struggling to get the most out of LinkedIn InMail? Well, struggle no more because I have great news for you. Before I dive in I wanted to ensure that you understand what I am talking about. What is LinkedIn InMail? Well, it is a paid service from LinkedIn to help you reach out to clients. If you are not connected with someone on LinkedIn one of the ways to message them is using InMails. There are other ways of course which I will show you later. The only way to get access to these InMails is through a paid or premium account which I will explain in a short while. I have been using LinkedIn InMail for many years and I can show you a thing or two. The alotted LinkedIn InMail credits assigned to your premium account may seem small but I have 7 hacks to help you stretch it all together.
LinkedIn Messaging
Let's start at the very beginning, when it comes to LinkedIn InMails we need to take a step back and look at all the available options. In order to get a message to someone on LinkedIn you can do one of the following:- Engage with their post or video
- Comment on their article
- Send them a direct 'free' message
- Write an InMail (paid option)
LinkedIn InMail Plans
You are probably wondering how much is an InMail credit? Well, it doesn't quite work that way for you see there are various packages available depending on what you want to achieve. Assuming you are an entrepreneur and you want to start slow and steady here are your options.


LinkedIn InMail Credits
The best way to address this question is to look at a scenario. You have a list of prospective clients who you need to contact to drum up some business. The list has 100 people on it and you have only 15 credits who will you send InMails too? Yes, I know you think that I am crazy but you need to give me a few paragraphs to explain. In one of my previous post when I compared LinkedIn vs Facebook I spent some time looking at the free LinkedIn search. Let's look at the example again of the owners of Jewelry shops located in West Palm Beach in Florida. I found 992 results so here is a screenshot.
Free Options
In order to think about these free options, you need to realise what value are you bringing to the table. In order words why would someone be interested in connecting with you? Here are some of the free options available before deciding to use your credits:- Can you join a group that this person belongs to?
- Did they post something in the last 30 days that you can comment on?
- Do the two of you have a common connection?
- Are you able to write a post to get their attention?

Using LinkedIn InMail Credits
So you have used your free options and you still have a number of people left on your list. You now want to take some time and prioritise the people on your list. Rank them from the most important and urgent to the least. Those that are at the bottom of the list try and reach out to them on Twitter. Sometimes one of the best ways to connect with people is just by sending them a direct message on Twitter. On each person's profile on LinkedIn is a contact info button. This is the best place to find their Twitter handle if they included it. Sometimes you can even find their phone number or email address. After trying these options you'll most likely have fewer people on your list where you have no choice but to use your LinkedIn InMail credits. The good news is that if that person responds you get back the credit. Yippee!! I have more news for you, if you don't use all of your credit in one month it then rolls over to the next month. Also, if someone eventually responds to you months after you still get back that credit.Sending LinkedIn InMails
The art of getting a good response rate from LinkedIn InMails depends on your ability to personalise your message. Don't take my word for it check out the advice from LinkedIn here. The cool thing about the premium package is that it gives you suggestions on the best path to reach out to your potential client as well as a good few suggested icebreakers.

7 LinkedIn InMail Hacks
To help you think outside the box here are 7 hacks to get higher response rates from LinkedIn InMails.- Get a 360-degree view of the prospect. Use LinkedIn in conjunction with Twitter to get higher response rates.
- Leverage events to get warm prospects to respond to you. If there is a major upcoming industry event use it as a way to break the ice.
- Take advantage of their recent activity on LinkedIn. The more active your prospect is on LinkedIn the higher the chances of them seeing your InMail.
- A 2nd InMail is never a bad idea. Depending on the value of this prospect to your business you may want to send them a 2nd InMail which will cost you 2 credits.
- In 2016 57% of traffic to LinkedIn was from a mobile device. This means that your messages need to be succinct and your subject lines intriguing.
- Add the persons name in the subject and body of the message. Grab an awesome swipe file of email subject lines and article titles and include the prospect name in the subject as well as the body of the message.
- Follow up your InMail message with a phone call. The human touch wins every time, hands down. People tend to respond better to you when you pick up the phone.
- Reach out to those who engage with your content. People who engage with your content on LinkedIn will often accept a connection request and InMails from you.
- Words like talk, chat, call and connect in the subject line tend to get a higher response rate compared to other words. Take a look at this article.
- LinkedIn Messaging
- LinkedIn InMail Plans
- InMail Credits
- Free Options
- Using Credits
- Sending InMails
- InMail Hacks
Announcements
There is a free webinar coming soon where I will go over a number of traffic attraction hacks across LinkedIn as well as Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook so get ready to join. You can subscribe to our podcasts to get notified when more success stories become available. In case you missed it check out the 10-Day Start your Blog on a Budget Challenge. It covers blogging for beginners, showing you how to become a blogger. It also offers blog niche ideas with 20+ HD videos and over the shoulder tutorials. If you need help setting up a marketing plan for your blog feel free to book some time in my calendar and I will be happy to spend an hour with you going over specifics. If you need help setting up your profile on Pinterest or you need someone to manage your Pinterest account on a monthly basis you can work with me here.
