LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. It allows users to connect with other professionals, search for jobs, follow companies, join groups, and more. One of the key features of LinkedIn is messaging, which enables users to directly communicate with connections and other members.
Messaging on LinkedIn can be a great way to build relationships, ask for introductions, follow up on job applications, and expand your professional network. However, LinkedIn does limit how many messages non-premium members can send.
LinkedIn Messaging Overview
There are a few key things to know about LinkedIn messaging:
- Messages can only be sent to 1st degree connections. You cannot message someone who is not already in your network.
- Messages have a 300 character limit.
- Messages cannot contain attachments or hyperlinks.
- You can only message an individual member – no group messages.
With a premium account, some of these limitations are removed. You can message anyone, regardless of connection status. Message character limits are increased to 10,000 characters. And you can send InMail messages, which are private messages to members you’re not connected to.
Messaging Limits for Free Accounts
So how many messages can you send on LinkedIn without a premium account? LinkedIn has implemented several limits:
- You can send 30 messages per day to any connections.
- You can send 15 messages per day to members you are not connected to that share a paid licenced LinkedIn Recruiter seat.
- Any messages sent after these limits are reached will fail or be queued until the next day.
The daily messaging limits reset at 12:00 AM Pacific Time each day. So you essentially have a “budget” of 30 messages to use per day. Note that this is a total limit – you can’t send 30 messages to each connection.
LinkedIn states that these limits can vary depending on your account history, industry, location, and other factors. For example, someone who frequently sends unwanted messages may have lower limits imposed. But in general, 30 messages per day appears to be the standard limit.
Getting Around the Message Limit
For high-volume messaging needs, LinkedIn’s free account limits can pose a challenge. Here are some potential workarounds:
- Upgrade to a premium account like LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Recruiter Lite. This immediately raises your daily limit to 150-300 messages.
- Use Premium InMail credits which allow you to message non-connections. You get 5-30 credits per month depending on account level.
- Spread messaging over multiple days and accounts. You could create multiple LinkedIn accounts and alternate between them.
- Use automated messaging tools like Dux-Soup, Mixmax, or Reply.io that integrate with LinkedIn. This allows scheduled, recurring messaging that avoids daily limits.
However, be cautious about trying to circumvent LinkedIn’s limits too aggressively. If your account is flagged for spamming or other policy violations, LinkedIn may restrict your account privileges or even suspend your account.
Impact of Exceeding the Limit
What happens if you go over the 30 message per day limit?
In most cases, any messages sent after the 30 limit is reached will fail to send. You may see an error notification that states “You’ve reached the daily limit for messages sent. Please try again tomorrow.”
The messages will not be queued or sent automatically the next day. You will have to resend them manually after your limit resets at 12AM Pacific time.
If you continue hitting the limit day after day, LinkedIn may begin throttling your account. This means you will encounter captcha verification requirements, delays between messages, lower send limits, and other restrictions. In serious cases of abuse, LinkedIn can freeze your ability to message entirely.
The main takeaway is to stay under your daily 30 message limit whenever possible. Sending in bulk right up to the cutoff increases the risk of issues.
Messaging Etiquette
When reaching out to LinkedIn connections, keep in mind proper messaging etiquette:
- Personalize each message with the recipient’s name.
- Have a clear purpose – don’t just say “Let’s connect.” Explain why you want to connect.
- Reference previous conversations or experiences you’ve had together.
- Avoid spammy templates. Write original messages relevant to each recipient.
- Follow up if you don’t get a response, but avoid pestering people who don’t respond.
- Use proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.
Upholding professional etiquette helps build goodwill and meaningful relationships. Blindly blasting the same generic messages to your whole network is a surefire way to be ignored.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It?
For many users, the free account messaging limits are sufficient. But if you need to frequently communicate with prospects and connections, a premium plan may be worthwhile.
Here’s an overview of the messaging benefits of LinkedIn’s premium offerings:
Plan | Daily Message Limit | InMail Credits |
---|---|---|
Premium Career | 30 | 5 |
Premium Business | 150 | 15 |
Sales Navigator Pro | 150 | 15 |
Sales Navigator Team | 300 | 20 |
Recruiter Lite | 300 | 20 |
Recruiter | 300 | 30 |
As you can see, premium accounts offer significantly higher messaging limits. They also provide InMail credits to message non-connections. Other benefits include expanded search filters, advanced analytics, customized alerts, and more.
Premium pricing starts at $29.99 per month for Premium Career up to $119.95 per month for Sales Navigator Ultimate. Many users can justify the expense given the extra capabilities and value unlocked.
Conclusion
In summary, here are the key points to remember about LinkedIn messaging limits:
- Free accounts can send 30 messages per day to connections.
- Attempting to send more will result in errors or account restrictions.
- Upgrading to premium allows 150-300 messages per day plus InMail.
- Stay under daily limits and personalize messages to avoid issues.
- Premium plans may be worthwhile if you need expanded messaging capabilities.
Leverage LinkedIn messaging to build relationships, but be sure to do so in an authentic, non-spammy way. Pay attention to your account limits and adjust your communication strategy accordingly. With the right approach, connecting on LinkedIn can drive tremendous value for your career and business.
LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful platform, with over 690 million users worldwide. For professionals and businesses alike, it provides unparalleled access to engage with peers, customers, partners and employees. One of the most useful features of LinkedIn is the ability to send direct messages to other members of the network. Being able to establish 1-to-1 conversations can help forge important relationships and open up opportunities.
However, LinkedIn places certain restrictions on messaging, especially for free users. Understanding these limitations is crucial to developing an effective LinkedIn messaging strategy. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about sending messages via LinkedIn, including:
- An overview of LinkedIn messaging capabilities
- Limits on messages for free accounts
- Upgrading to premium plans
- Best practices for effective outreach
Let’s get started unraveling the intricacies of messaging on the world’s largest professional network!
LinkedIn Messaging: The Fundamentals
Before we dig into specifics around limits, it’s helpful to understand some key features of LinkedIn messaging:
- Messages can only be sent between 1st-degree connections.
- Free accounts have a 300 character limit per message.
- Messages cannot contain attachments or embedded links.
- You can only message one member at a time – no group messages.
With premium and subscription accounts, some of these restrictions are relaxed. For example, character limits expand up to 10,000 per message. Accounts with higher levels of access can also message 2nd and 3rd-degree connections. But in general, the above core rules apply to all tiers.
How Many Messages Can Free Users Send?
Let’s get to the heart of the matter – how many messages can you send each day with a free LinkedIn account? Here are the key limitations to be aware of:
- You can send up to 30 messages per day to any 1st-degree connections.
- An additional 15 messages per day can be sent to members who share a paid LinkedIn Recruiter seat.
- Messages beyond these daily quotas will fail to send.
A few things to note – the 30 message limit is an aggregate total, not per connection. The limits reset at 12:00am Pacific Time each day. And while rare, LinkedIn may throttle accounts that frequently hit the caps by implementing other restrictions like captchas.
Exceeding Messaging Limits
Going over the daily allotment of 30 messages to connections will result in send failures. You’ll see errors letting you know the limit has been reached, and messages will not be sent automatically the next day.
To ensure your outreach gets through, pay close attention to your usage and how close you are to the cutoff. Try spreading messaging over multiple days to stay under the threshold. Sending large batch campaigns right up to the 30 message limit increases the risk of issues.
Boosting LinkedIn Messaging Limits
For some professionals and businesses generating lots of LinkedIn leads, the free account caps may be too restrictive. Here are a few ways to increase messaging capacity:
- Upgrade to premium – Options like Sales Navigator and Recruiter raise limits to 150-300 messages per day.
- Use InMail credits – InMail allows you to message non-connections and credits are included with premium accounts.
- Stagger messaging – Spread conversations over multiple days and accounts to stay under limits.
- Try tools like Dux-Soup – Automated messaging tools can help schedule sending around daily caps.
The best path depends on your specific needs and budget. Premium unlocks more capabilities, but isn’t always cost-effective for all use cases.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Messaging
Regardless of the volume, abiding by LinkedIn messaging etiquette is crucial for making connections. Here are some top tips:
- Personalize each message – avoid blasting generic templates.
- Make the purpose clear upfront.
- Follow up if no response, but don’t harass.
- Use proper grammar, punctuation and capitalization.
- Don’t overuse salesy jargon and phrases.
Personal, customized outreach demonstrates respect for the recipient’s time. It helps move relationships forward rather than coming across as spammy sales tactics.
The Value of LinkedIn Premium
While free plans meet the needs of many casual users, upgrading to premium delivers more capabilities. Here’s an overview of the messaging benefits with paid subscriptions:
Plan | Daily Message Limit | InMail Credits |
---|---|---|
Premium Career | 30 | 5 |
Premium Business | 150 | 15 |
Sales Navigator Pro | 150 | 15 |
Recruiter Lite | 300 | 20 |
Recruiter | 300 | 30 |
In addition to increased messaging limits, premium unlocks advanced filters, analytics, alerts, and more. Pricing ranges from $29.99 to $119.95 per month depending on needs.
The Bottom Line
Here are the key takeaways around LinkedIn messaging limits:
- Free users can message up to 30 connections per day.
- Going over the limit results in message failures.
- Premium accounts offer higher limits and InMail capabilities.
- Spread out messaging and personalize each one.
- Upgrade if you need greater volume and flexibility.
With the right expectations set, you can develop an optimized system for messaging that drives results. Maintain professionalism and proper etiquette as you connect with your LinkedIn network.
LinkedIn messaging is a valuable tool for relationship building and lead generation. But understanding the limitations – especially for free accounts – is essential to success. Hopefully this guide provides clarity on maximizing your outreach while avoiding issues with daily caps and restrictions. Let me know if you have any other questions!