LinkedIn limits the number of connection requests and messages users can send each week to prevent spam and abuse. However, some people wish to go beyond these limits for legitimate networking purposes. This article will explore techniques to bypass LinkedIn’s weekly limits without violating their terms of service.
Understand LinkedIn’s Limits
LinkedIn allows free users to send up to 300 connection requests and 30 messages per week. Paid Job Seeker, Sales Navigator, and Recruiter accounts have higher limits. If you try to exceed the limits, LinkedIn will block additional requests and messages until the next week.
These limits are necessary to prevent spam, harassment, and other abuses. However, well-meaning users sometimes wish to connect with more people or send more messages as part of networking and prospecting activities. Below are some techniques to work around the limits which do not violate LinkedIn’s terms.
Upgrade to a Paid Account
The simplest way to lift the limits is upgrading to a paid Job Seeker, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter account. The higher monthly fees provide more connection and messaging capacity. For example, a Sales Navigator Pro account allows up to 500 connection requests and 50 messages per week.
Upgrading makes sense if you will consistently need the higher limits. But it may not be worthwhile if you only need a temporary boost for a particular networking push. Read on for some free workarounds.
Optimize Your Connection Requests
Since the basic free account has a 300 connection request weekly cap, optimize your requests to focus on the most relevant prospects:
- Personalize each request with a note addressing their background to show shared interests.
- Target prospects who share groups, schools, companies, and connections with you.
- Prioritize second- and third-degree connections since they are more likely to accept.
- Avoid blank generic requests which are more likely to be ignored.
Carefully picking your connection targets can help stay under the limit while still reaching quality prospects.
Wait Out the Week
The simplest free option is to wait until the next week when your limits reset. LinkedIn’s weeks start on Monday at 12am Pacific time. At that point, you will have a fresh quota of 300 requests and 30 messages.
Plan your networking in weekly batches, stopping when you hit the caps. Use any remaining days to engage your new connections before the next week starts.
Use Saved Drafts
A handy trick is using LinkedIn’s saved draft feature for connection requests and messages. Here’s how it works:
- Craft your customized requests and messages, but do not send them.
- Save each as a draft by clicking “Save as draft” instead of “Send.”
- Once you hit your limits, you can still edit and save more drafts.
- After the week resets, return to your drafts and send them as needed.
This technique lets you queue up requests and messages ahead of time without actually sending them early.
Send Messages From Shared Posts
When you share someone else’s post, you can include a message which does not count against your 30-message weekly limit. Leverage this to communicate beyond your cap:
- Find relevant posts from your connections to share publicly or privately.
- Write an introductory message to the recipient as part of the share.
- You can send unlimited shares+messages this way per week.
The downside is that the recipient may not notice your message if they do not closely review shared posts.
Use an Assistant or Team Account
Some sales and recruiting professionals use assistants or team accounts:
- Assistants can send requests and messages under your direction using their own quotas.
- Team accounts for companies also provide separate weekly limits.
Delegating to others allows more total outreach volume. But it costs money to hire assistants or obtain team accounts.
Conclusion
Here are the key takeaways for bypassing LinkedIn’s sending limits:
- Upgrade to premium paid accounts for more capacity.
- Optimize your requests to key targets.
- Wait out the weekly reset.
- Use drafts to queue messages for later.
- Attach messages to post shares.
- Outsource sending to assistants or teams.
With the right strategy, you can conduct more extensive relationship-building and prospecting on LinkedIn without exceeding the anti-spam limits or turning to shady methods.
Technique | Pros | Cons |
---|---|---|
Upgrade Account | Higher limits | Costs money |
Optimize Requests | Targets best prospects | Still limited on volume |
Wait for Reset | Simple and free | Delay in sending |
Use Drafts | Queue messages for later | Extra draft management |
Share+Message | Unlimited messages | Easily overlooked |
Outsource Sending | Scale with help | Cost of assistants/teams |