LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 800 million members. Connecting with other professionals on LinkedIn can help you build your professional brand, find job opportunities, establish business relationships, and more. However, there may be times when you want to message someone on LinkedIn who is not currently in your network. While LinkedIn does not allow you to directly message members who are not your 1st-degree connections, there are a few workarounds that make it possible to still communicate with them.
Why Would You Want To Message Someone Who Is Not A Connection?
Here are some common reasons you may need to message a LinkedIn member outside of your network:
– You want to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know who works at a company you are interested in. You hope to connect with them to learn more about job opportunities or the company culture.
– You found someone through search or browsing LinkedIn who has skills, experiences, or knowledge that would be valuable for you to connect with. However, you have no mutual connections who can facilitate an introduction.
– Someone made a post or comment that you would like to follow up on, but you are not currently connected.
– You want to follow up on an application you submitted for a position at a company where you have no connections. Messaging the recruiter or hiring manager directly could help move your application along.
– You want to reach out to a business contact, potential client, or service provider you found through LinkedIn to inquire about their services.
– Someone you met recently at an event, class, or networking opportunity does not come up in your LinkedIn network. You want to connect with them again to further the relationship.
Option 1: Send An InMail
The easiest way to message someone you are not connected to is by using LinkedIn’s InMail feature. InMail allows you to send private messages to any LinkedIn member, even if they are not in your network.
Here are some tips for using InMail effectively:
– Keep your message concise and focused on introducing yourself, explaining why you want to connect, and asking if the recipient would be open to further discussion. Avoid overly salesy or promotional messages.
– Reference any common experiences, groups, or interests you may share on LinkedIn to establish common ground. Looking at their profile can reveal shared connections, employers, schools, skills, etc.
– Make it personal and customize the message to show you took time to understand their experiences and background. Generic outreach is less likely to get a response.
– Follow up if you don’t hear back within a week. The recipient may have just missed your initial InMail.
– Use email as an alternative if your InMail goes unanswered. You can find email addresses through tools like RocketReach or Clearbit based on the person’s LinkedIn profile.
InMail Limits
The number of InMail credits you have per month depends on your LinkedIn account type:
| Account Type | Monthly InMail Credits |
|---|---|
| Free Account | 0 credits |
| Premium Career Account | 5 credits |
| Sales Navigator Professional | 15 credits |
| Recruiter Lite | 25 credits |
| Recruiter, Educator, Business Plus | 50 credits |
You can purchase additional credits beyond the amounts listed here. Carefully evaluate whether each message is worth spending your limited InMail credits on.
Option 2: Comment & Like Their Posts
If you don’t want to use your InMail credits, another option is engaging with the person’s LinkedIn content to get their attention. Here are some tips:
– Check if they have a public profile and have made any posts. Take time to read their posts and leave meaningful comments that demonstrate you read it.
– Ask smart questions or offer insights related to their posts to spark further discussion. Be helpful, not promotional.
– Like their posts and share them if relevant to your own network. Increased engagement could pique their interest.
– Share one of your own posts and tag them in the text if relevant to their work. This can introduce yourself on their radar.
– Comment on articles, presentations, or content they have curated or shared to establish common interests.
– Be persistent and consistent without being annoying. It may take several value-adding comments before they reciprocate and check out your profile.
Option 3: Connect With Their Connections
Another approach is connecting with people who are 2nd-degree connections to your target person. Here are some tips for going through shared connections:
– Identify if you have any 2nd-degree connections by looking at their profile. These are people you are both connected to.
– Reach out to mutual connections and explain you are interested in connecting with the person. Most people are happy to facilitate introductions.
– Ask your shared connections if they can provide a warm introduction by connecting the three of you or mentioning you to the person.
– Utilize LinkedIn’s TeamLink feature to follow company pages and gain visibility into 2nd and 3rd-degree connections at the company you want to connect with.
– Make use of LinkedIn’s automated “You were on their mind” reminders which prompt 2nd-degree connections to introduce you.
– Join LinkedIn groups related to the person’s industry or interests to connect with more of their network.
– Attend relevant LinkedIn events they are also attending to organically network with mutual connections in person.
Option 4: Connect Via Other Channels
If you still have no luck reaching someone through LinkedIn, try connecting with them through other methods:
– Look up their personal website or blog to find their email or contact info there. Send a polite cold email introducing yourself.
– Check their social media profiles on sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok which may provide ways to message them.
– Try sending a message on chat tools like Slack or Teams if you can identify an account that belongs to them.
– Look up their company website for a company directory or contact page to reach out to them at their work email.
– As a last resort, try mailing a personalized letter or postcard to their work address introducing yourself and asking to connect.
Is Making Contact Worth It?
Before reaching out to someone you don’t know on LinkedIn, first consider whether it’s worth the effort and aligns with your goals. Ask yourself:
– Do we have enough common experiences, interests, or connections to establish context for why I want to connect? Will they perceive value in connecting with me?
– Is this person likely to even respond to an unsolicited message from a stranger? Are they open to networking?
– Do I have a clear professional purpose for connecting instead of just trying to grow my network?
– Is my messaging genuine and personalized based on their experiences, or is it a canned template?
– Am I comfortable if they decline or ignore my message? Is it still valuable practice for outreach skills?
Conclusion
Reaching out to someone you don’t already know on LinkedIn can feel intimidating. While there is a chance they may not respond, as long as your messaging is thoughtful and considers their needs, it can lead to valuable connections. With persistence and creativity in using LinkedIn messaging, engaging with their content, and leveraging mutual connections, you can overcome the “no connections in common” barrier. Maintain high ethical standards, avoid pestering people who don’t respond, and focus on how you can provide value, and messaging non-connections through LinkedIn can expand your professional opportunities.
