LinkedIn InMail is a powerful tool for making direct contact with other LinkedIn members, even those you are not connected to. With InMail, you can send personalized messages directly to another member’s LinkedIn inbox. This allows you to expand your network, connect with potential customers or partners, and increase engagement.
However, like any outreach effort, it’s important to track your InMail response rate. Knowing how often your InMail messages receive a reply can help you refine your outreach strategy and become more effective.
What is an InMail response rate?
Your InMail response rate is the percentage of InMail messages you send that receive a reply from the recipient.
For example, if you send 100 InMail messages in a month and 25 people reply, your InMail response rate would be 25%.
To calculate your InMail response rate, you’ll need to:
- Count the total number of InMail messages you sent in a given period
- Count the number of replies/responses received
- Divide the number of replies by the total sent
Tracking this metric over time can reveal trends and help you refine your outreach strategy to improve your response rate.
Why is InMail response rate important?
Monitoring your InMail response rate is important for several reasons:
- Measures effectiveness: Your response rate shows how effective your outreach efforts are at connecting with your desired targets.
- Identifies issues: A low response rate may indicate problems with your messaging, targeting, subject lines or other factors.
- Informs strategy: Knowing your response rate helps you test different approaches and improve your tactics over time.
- Tracks progress: Seeing your response rate rise over time provides motivation and shows your outreach skills are improving.
In short, your InMail response rate is a key metric that gives insight into the success of your outreach strategy on LinkedIn.
How to check your LinkedIn InMail response rate
LinkedIn does not provide an automated way to view your overall InMail response rate. However, with a few simple steps, you can manually calculate your response rate.
On desktop
To check your InMail response rate on the LinkedIn desktop site:
- Go to the My Network page
- Click on “Manage my network”
- Click on “InMail messages” in the left sidebar
- Review your sent InMail messages from the desired date range
- Count the total number of messages sent
- Filter for messages with a reply
- Count the number of replies received
- Divide replies by total sent to get your response rate
On mobile
To check your InMail response rate using the LinkedIn mobile app:
- Tap the “My Network” icon
- Tap “Manage my network”
- Tap “InMail messages”
- Review your sent InMails from the desired date range
- Count the total InMails sent
- Filter for InMails with a reply
- Count the number of replies
- Divide replies by total sent to get your response rate
What is a good InMail response rate?
What qualifies as a “good” InMail response rate can vary based on factors like your industry and target audience. However, based on benchmarks, a good response rate generally falls between 25-35%.
Here are general benchmarks for InMail response rates:
- Excellent: Over 35%
- Good: 25-35%
- Average: 15-25%
- Below average: Under 15%
Striving for at least a 25% response rate is a reasonable goal for most LinkedIn users. A rate higher than 35% is exceptional.
How to improve your LinkedIn InMail response rate
If your InMail response rate is lower than you’d like, there are several tactics you can try to boost it:
Target the right people
Carefully research and identify your ideal recipients beforehand. Prioritize connections, 2nd degree contacts, and those who fit your target audience.
Personalize your messages
Personalized messages have higher response rates. Include their name, company, shared connections, and details from their profile.
Craft compelling subject lines
Use specific, benefits-driven subject lines. Avoid generic phrases like “Invitation to connect.” Highlight value in the subject.
Keep messages concise
Get to the point quickly. Long-winded messages are less likely to get a response. Be succinct and articulate your value proposition upfront.
Use a warm, helpful tone
Sound friendly and sincere, not salesy or robotic. Show you want to help them, not just pitch something.
Follow up once
If they don’t respond in a week, follow up once. Repeat your value proposition using slightly different language.
Test different timing
Try messaging at different times and days. Mid-week mornings often have higher response rates.
Offer value
Provide valuable information, resources, or insights in your message. This increases the incentive to respond.
Use A/B testing to optimize
Try A/B testing different variables to see what moves the needle on your response rate. Test factors like:
- Subject lines
- Length of messages
- Offers/value proposition
- Timing
- Follow up cadence
By methodically testing changes, you can continually refine your InMail strategy.
Leverage LinkedIn tools
Make use of built-in LinkedIn tools to enhance your targeting and messaging:
- Advanced search – Find prospects by industry, job role, skills, location and more.
- Relationship insights – See your connections in common to build rapport.
- Lead gen forms – Include forms in your InMail to capture prospect info.
- Tracking pixels – Insert pixels to see if your InMail is opened.
Follow up with multiple touches
Don’t limit yourself to a single InMail. Follow up with additional value-driven touches like:
- Targeted content offers
- Recommendations to connect
- Sharing an article or post
- Commenting on their post
Ongoing nurturing beyond the initial InMail can increase engagement.
Review InMail analytics
LinkedIn provides analytics on your InMail sends under “Communications” in your account settings. Review this data for insights:
- Number of InMails sent
- Open rate
- Click-through rate
- Unsubscribe rate
These metrics can reveal opportunities to fine-tune your targeting, messaging, subject lines and more.
Enlist help from sales tools
Sales engagement platforms like Outreach and SalesLoft can automate tracking of InMail metrics and performance.
Key features include:
- InMail response data and metrics
- Tracking recipient engagement
- Automated follow-ups
- Activity logging
- Templates to customize messages
Intelligent sales engagement tools can streamline the process of sending and optimizing InMail.
Conclusion
Regularly checking and optimizing your LinkedIn InMail response rate is key to maximizing the impact of your outreach. While 25-35% is a good benchmark to aim for, the most successful senders are constantly testing and refining their approach.
Pay close attention to who you’re targeting, your messaging and value proposition, and leverage tools to automate tracking. With a methodical approach to improving your response rate, you can build stronger relationships and expand your LinkedIn network.
