LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. As a LinkedIn member, you can grow your network by connecting with professionals in your industry. One way to do this is by using LinkedIn invitations.
When you first join LinkedIn, you are given a limited number of invitations to connect with other members. These are called LinkedIn invite credits. Invite credits allow you to send connection requests to people you’d like to add to your network. Here’s what you need to know about how invite credits work on LinkedIn.
What are LinkedIn invite credits?
LinkedIn invite credits are connection requests you can send to other members to grow your network. When you join LinkedIn, you start with a set number of invite credits to use. Once you use up your initial invite credits, you can earn more by completing various activities on LinkedIn.
Invite credits are LinkedIn’s way of limiting the number of unsolicited connection requests members receive. By putting a cap on how many invites each user can send, LinkedIn aims to maintain the professional nature of connections and prevent spam.
How many invite credits do you get when you join LinkedIn?
When you first sign up for a LinkedIn account, you receive 15 initial invite credits. These credits allow you to send up to 15 connection requests to people you would like to connect with.
The number of initial invite credits you receive may vary in some cases. For example, when you join LinkedIn with a .edu email address, indicating you are a student, you receive 30 initial invite credits instead of 15.
Regardless of how many invite credits you start with, they go quickly as you begin connecting with other members. But there are plenty of ways to earn more credits over time.
How to earn more LinkedIn invite credits
Once you have used up your initial 15 or 30 invite credits, there are several ways to get more credits so you can continue growing your network:
- Connect with people who invite you – Each time you accept an invitation to connect from another member, you receive 1 invite credit in return. So accept those invites!
- Import contacts – Importing your email contacts to LinkedIn will earn you 1 invite credit for each contact imported (up to 500).
- Follow companies – You receive 1 invite credit for following each new company on LinkedIn, up to 50 credits.
- Complete your profile – Filling out the About, Experience, Education and other sections of your profile to 100% completion earns you 15 credits.
- Participate in discussions – Being an active member by engaging in Groups and posting updates and articles can earn you credits over time.
- Refer friends – Referring friends to join LinkedIn earns you 3 invite credits for each one who signs up.
Building up your invite credits again takes time and regular LinkedIn activity. The best way is to focus on creating a complete, informative profile and participating actively in discussions to demonstrate your knowledge. This active engagement will organically earn you more credits.
How many invite credits can you have at once?
There is no fixed limit to how many invite credits you can accumulate. Your credits simply build up from the initial 15 as you complete various activities on LinkedIn.
However, there seems to be a soft cap of around 100-200 credits at any given time. Even if you qualify for more credits by completing profile updates or other tasks, your total may not go above 200.
This soft cap likely prevents spamming by limiting how many bulk invites a user can accumulate and send at once. But over time, you can continue earning credits as you use them to grow your network.
Do invite credits expire?
Yes, any unused invite credits will eventually expire after 12 months. So it’s best to use your credits regularly rather than hoarding them.
When credits expire after a year, they are removed from your account total. But you can always earn more by completing profile updates, engaging with content, and referring friends.
Who can receive invite credits?
All standard LinkedIn members can send and receive invite credits. However, there are some restrictions on who you can connect with, depending on your membership level.
Free LinkedIn members can only use credits to invite other free members to connect. You cannot use credits to try connecting with premium subscribers you don’t already know.
Premium subscribers have no restrictions on who they can send invite credits to. They can use credits to request connections with any member, free or premium.
Does LinkedIn Recruiter have unlimited credits?
Yes, LinkedIn Recruiter accounts have unlimited invite credits. This allows recruiters to send as many InMail messages as needed to contact qualified candidates.
Recruiter accounts still need to send invite credits or InMail messages one at a time. But they are not restricted by a set credit limit.
Unlimited credits prevent recruiters from losing touch with good candidates due to running out of connection capabilities.
Tips for using invite credits
To make the most of your limited invite credits, here are some best practices:
- Personalize each request with a customized message so the recipient is more likely to accept.
- Target connections strategically, focusing on those you truly want in your network versus inviting everyone.
- Connect with people you already know first before reaching out to strangers.
- Include a reminder of where you met or why you want to connect.
- Follow up if a connection doesn’t respond to your initial invite.
By personalizing your invites rather than doing mass connection blasts, you can maintain the quality of your growing network.
Conclusion
LinkedIn invite credits allow you to strategically grow your professional network by requesting connections. While credits are limited, you can earn more through regular LinkedIn engagement. Use your credits thoughtfully to make connections that truly matter.
The key points to remember are:
- You start with 15 or 30 initial invite credits when joining LinkedIn
- Credits can be earned by accepting invites, importing contacts, following companies, and being an active member
- Invite credits expire after 12 months if unused
- Free members can only use credits to connect with other free members
- Premium members have no restrictions on using credits
- Recruiter accounts have unlimited credits
- Personalize your invites and use credits strategically
With the right approach, invite credits can help you build a diverse and valuable professional network on LinkedIn.