LinkedIn InMail ads allow you to directly reach your target audience in their LinkedIn inbox. With over 722 million members, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network and a powerful platform for B2B marketing and lead generation.
InMail ads enable you to send personalized messages to your ideal prospects that match your target audience criteria. They have high open and response rates compared to regular InMail messages.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about LinkedIn InMail ads including:
What are LinkedIn InMail ads?
LinkedIn InMail ads are a type of sponsored InMail message that appear directly in the recipient’s LinkedIn inbox. Regular InMail messages can only be sent to people who are connections, but InMail ads allow you to reach anyone who meets your targeting criteria, even if they are not connections.
Some key highlights of LinkedIn InMail ads:
– Reach your target audience directly in their inbox with personalized messages
– Get guaranteed views and high open rates of over 50%
– Generate quality leads by engaging your ideal customers
– Excellent deliverability as recipients must opt-in to receiving InMail messages
– Ability to track opens, clicks, and replies
Benefits of LinkedIn InMail ads
Here are some of the main benefits of using LinkedIn InMail ads:
– High open rates – InMail ads get opened over 50% of the time on average.
– Improved deliverability – Your message is guaranteed to reach the prospect’s inbox without going into spam.
– Personalized outreach – You can customize your message for each recipient.
– Targeted reach – Target your ads by job title, company, industry, seniority level, and more.
– Lead generation – InMail ads are great for generating B2B leads. Recipients can simply reply to your message.
– Brand awareness – Increase awareness by reaching your target audience directly in their inbox.
– High response rates – Expect 5-10X higher response rates compared to regular InMail.
– Detailed analytics – Track opens, clicks, replies, and conversations.
How LinkedIn InMail ads work?
Here is an overview of how LinkedIn InMail ads work:
1. You create an InMail ad campaign within LinkedIn Campaign Manager and define your target audience and messaging.
2. Your message is delivered directly to the LinkedIn inbox of recipients who match your audience targeting criteria.
3. Recipients open the InMail message from their inbox. They can click links, reply directly or dismiss the message.
4. You can track a range of metrics like opens, clicks, replies, as well as start conversations with respondents.
5. LinkedIn charges you on a cost-per-send basis, so you only pay when your message is successfully delivered.
In summary, InMail ads enable you to reach your audience in a personal way at scale on LinkedIn. You pay per delivered message and can optimize based on performance.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating LinkedIn InMail Ads
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating and optimizing LinkedIn InMail ad campaigns:
Step 1: Define your campaign objective
Be clear about what you want to achieve with your InMail ad campaign. Typical campaign objectives include:
– Lead generation – Generate qualified leads
– Event registration – Drive event sign-ups
– Content promotion – Get downloads for your gated assets
– Sales inquiries – Reach prospects to schedule demos/meetings
Define relevant success metrics upfront for your objectives like lead form submissions, event registrations, content downloads, or scheduled meetings.
Step 2: Identify your target audience
Conduct audience research to identify your ideal customer profile (ICP). Leverage LinkedIn’s depth of member data to target your messages effectively.
You can target your ads by:
– Company – Target employees from specific companies
– Job title and seniority – Reach people by their role and seniority
– Industry – Target people who work in your relevant industries
– Skills and experience – Identify audiences with the right expertise
– Group membership – Target people who are part of relevant LinkedIn groups
– Location – Send locally relevant messages by country/region
Create highly segmented and targeted audience lists for your campaign. Test and iterate to identify your best performing audiences.
Step 3: Craft your InMail message
Write compelling subject lines and message copy to maximize open rates and responses.
Follow these best practices:
– Keep subject lines short, personalized, and intriguing
– Highlight the value proposition upfront in the message preview text
– Personalize messages using merge fields like first name and company
– Focus on how you can help solve pain points for the prospect
– Use a warm and consultative tone
– Include a clear call-to-action
Customize your messages for different segments and test content variations.
Step 4: Set your targeting options and bids
Configure your campaign settings:
– Number of messages to send
– Geographic targeting
– Timing – Send one-off or set a daily budget
– Bid amount – Minimum is $40 per 1000 impressions
Test sending in small batches initially. LinkedIn will provide a preview of the estimated audience size before you send.
Step 5: Launch and monitor your campaign
Launch your campaign and continuously monitor its performance.
Important metrics to track include:
– Sent vs delivered messages
– Open rates
– Click-through rates
– Reply rates
– Cost per lead or conversion
Use LinkedIn’s reporting to gather audience insights. Identify your best performing segments and messages.
Step 6: Optimize your campaigns
Based on results from your initial tests, optimize future campaign runs by:
– Refining your audience targeting
– Improving subject lines and message copy
– Adjusting your bid and budget
– Automating drip campaigns for increased conversions
– Building retargeting campaigns for unresponsive leads
Set up regular cadences to re-engage recipients who did not respond initially. Test new creative and offers over time.
Best Practices for LinkedIn InMail Ads
Here are some proven best practices to maximize the impact of your LinkedIn InMail ad campaigns:
Personalize extensively
Personalized InMails have open rates that are 3x higher compared to generic InMails. Include the prospect’s first name, company, job title or location in your message.
Focus on value, not features
Communicate the value you can provide to prospects. Tailor the message to their pain points and interests. Avoid generic product pitches.
Test different subject lines
Subject line optimization can lift open rates significantly. Test subjects focused on providing value and solving problems.
Use images and videos
Including images/videos in your message can boost engagement. But ensure they are relevant and personalized.
Follow up with unresponsive leads
Set up lead nurturing flows to follow up with prospects who did not respond to your initial message. Consider offering them something of value.
Integrate with a CRM
Sync your InMail ads with your CRM to automatically track leads and pass them on for follow up by sales teams.
Promote gated assets
Drive downloads of your gated assets like ebooks, whitepapers, and webinars using InMail ads. Offer exclusive previews to incentivize sharing of contact information.
Do’s and Don’ts for LinkedIn InMail Ads
Here are some key dos and don’ts to keep in mind:
Do:
– Personalize every message
– Target your ads very selectively
– Focus on helping the prospect
– Keep subject lines and previews short and compelling
– Follow up unresponsive leads
Don’t:
– Use generic templates for all messages
– Spam people with irrelevant messages
– Make it all about you or your product
– Use long subject lines that will get cut off
– Send single blasts without any follow up
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do LinkedIn InMail ads cost?
LinkedIn InMail ads cost a minimum of $10 per InMail sent. The average cost is around $40 per InMail. You set a maximum cost-per-send bid in the Campaign Manager.
What is the InMail send limit per month?
The monthly InMail send limit depends on your account type. Free accounts have a limit of 15 messages per month. Premium accounts can send up to 30 messages per month, while Sales Navigator accounts have a 100 message per month limit.
Paid InMail ad campaigns do not have any monthly send limits. You control the target number of messages sent and associated budget.
What is the optimal InMail length?
The ideal InMail length is 150-300 words. You want to include enough information to personalize the message and articulate the value proposition, but not make it too long.
What is a good open rate for InMail ads?
The average open rate for sponsored InMail ads is over 50%. Well-targeted InMail campaigns can achieve open rates of 60-75%. Anything above 40% open rate is considered decent.
How can I automate InMail campaigns?
You can automate InMail ad campaigns using tools like Dux-Soup, Woodpecker.co, and Seamless.ai. These tools let you schedule sending based on lead scoring and automatically follow up with prospects.
Can I export InMail campaign reports?
Yes, LinkedIn Campaign Manager provides options to export InMail campaign performance reports as CSV or Excel files. You can also connect your LinkedIn ads account to third-party analytics tools.
Conclusion
LinkedIn InMail ads provide a powerful way to engage your target audience on LinkedIn through personalized and relevant messaging.
To maximize results, carefully target your InMail campaigns, personalize your messages extensively, track performance metrics, and continuously optimize your approach. Follow LinkedIn InMail best practices to boost open, click through and conversion rates.
With over 722 million professionals on LinkedIn, InMail ads present an unparalleled opportunity to directly reach and convert your ideal prospects at scale.
