A good LinkedIn inmail response rate can vary depending on factors like your industry, the size of your network, and who you are messaging. However, a response rate of 20-30% is considered quite good. Anything above 30% is excellent.
What is an inmail?
An inmail is a private message sent directly to another LinkedIn member’s inbox. Unlike regular LinkedIn messages, inmails allow you to reach out to people who are not connections in your network.
Inmails are a premium feature available with LinkedIn’s paid subscriptions. They provide a way to directly contact prospects, potential clients, recruiters, and others on LinkedIn in a more personal way.
Typical inmail response rates
According to LinkedIn, the average inmail response rate is around 10-15%. However, response rates can vary significantly based on factors like:
- Your industry – Some industries like tech and media tend to have higher response rates, while others like healthcare have lower.
- Seniority level – Higher level executives and leaders often have lower response rates due to high volume of messages.
- Your relationship to the recipient – People are more likely to respond to inmails from someone they know or share connections with.
- Quality of your message – Personalized messages with specific asks tend to perform better.
While 10-15% is average, anything above 20% is considered quite good. A response rate of 25-30% is excellent for most users. Response rates above 30% are rare unless you have strong existing relationships with recipients.
How to improve your LinkedIn inmail response rate
Here are some tips to get better response rates from your LinkedIn inmails:
- Target your outreach – Be selective in who you message. Prioritize contacts you have existing relationships with, share connections to, or who fit your ideal customer profile.
- Personalize your messages – Reference their background, experience, interests, or connections to show you did your research on them.
- Highlight value – Explain upfront how connecting would be mutually beneficial and value-driven.
- Keep it short and specific – Get to the point quickly and make your ask clear. Aim for 2-3 concise paragraphs.
- Follow up – If they don’t respond initially, follow up in a week or two with a new message.
- Watch your send frequency – Avoid spamming recipients. 15-30 quality inmails per week is reasonable for most.
- Test different messaging – Try different subject lines, message styles and lengths to see what works best.
- Use tracking software – Tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator can help you monitor open and response rates.
Improving the quality of your outreach and refining your messaging will lead to higher inmail response over time. Be patient, follow up persistently, and continually optimize your approach.
Ideal inmail response rate benchmarks
While any response rate above 20% is solid, here are some ideal inmail response rate benchmarks to aim for:
- Cold outreach: 15-20%
- Warm outreach: 25-35%
- Sales prospecting: 20-30%
- Recruiting: 25-40%
- Thought leadership: 15-25%
- Networking requests: 30-40%
These targets assume you are personalizing messages, targeting thoughtfully, and following up effectively. Higher response rates are achievable when contacting established connections.
Following up on LinkedIn inmails
Following up is key to improving your overall inmail response rate. Here are some best practices:
- Send your initial inmail on Monday or Tuesday for best results.
- Wait 7-10 days before your first follow up message.
- Try changing subject line, but re-use main text.
- If no response after 2nd attempt, wait 3-4 weeks before 3rd try.
- Consider reframing your messaging and offer on follow-ups.
- Personalize and reference previous outreach attempts.
- When following up repeatedly, spread out over several months.
Following up shows persistence and gives your outreach multiple chances to catch the recipient’s attention. Just be sure to avoid seeming overly aggressive or salesy.
Inmail response rate tracking
Tracking your inmail metrics is vital to optimizing response. Here are some ways to monitor response rate:
- Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator to see overall response data.
- Track opens vs. responses in spreadsheet to calculate rates.
- Review monthly LinkedIn inmail statistics in your account.
- Use email tracking software to monitor replies.
- Record response rates by recipient type, message style, etc.
- Set up tracking links in your messages to monitor clicks.
- Test subject lines and track open rates.
Consistently gathering this data will allow you to refine your outreach approach and improve your inmail response rate over time. Testing and tracking response is key.
Maximizing the value of your inmails
While response rate is important, maximizing the value of your inmails also matters. Some ways to add value include:
- Conducting research before outreach to personalize effectively.
- Asking for advice to flatter recipients and increase engagement.
- Seeking introductions to recipients’ connections.
- Building relationships, not just one-off asks.
- Providing useful resources and information without a hard sell.
- Following up promptly and appropriately after connecting.
- Expressing gratitude whether they respond or not.
The quality of the connections you make matters just as much as the quantity. Provide value, build relationships, and be patient when using LinkedIn inmails.