InMail is LinkedIn’s internal messaging system that allows you to contact anyone on LinkedIn, even if you’re not connected. This differs from regular LinkedIn messages, which can only be sent to your 1st-degree connections. InMail messages bypass the recipient’s inbox and appear as notifications, helping increase open and response rates. But what is the average InMail acceptance rate on LinkedIn? Let’s take a deep dive into the data and find out.
What is InMail?
LinkedIn InMail is a messaging feature that enables you to directly contact any LinkedIn member, regardless of whether they’re within your professional network. Some key things to know about InMail:
- InMail messages go directly into the recipient’s LinkedIn Messages section rather than their regular email inbox.
- Recipients can easily respond to InMails with one click.
- There are limits on the number of InMails you can send per month as a regular LinkedIn user. You can purchase additional credits.
- Response rates for InMail are generally higher than regular cold outreach emails.
- InMail is intended for one-to-one professional communication, not mass messaging.
Overall, InMail provides a way to directly reach LinkedIn members outside of your network in a private, non-intrusive way optimized for one-on-one engagement. It can be a powerful outreach tool when used appropriately.
Why Use InMail?
There are several key reasons why professionals use InMail to connect with people on LinkedIn:
Higher response rates
Since InMail messages are directly integrated into LinkedIn’s interface, response rates tend to be higher compared to cold email outreach. Recipients can respond with just one click.
Reach people outside your network
The main advantage of InMail is the ability to contact LinkedIn members regardless of whether they’re in your 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree network. It lets you expand your outreach beyond connections only.
Personalized professional communication
InMail provides a channel for one-on-one communication and is intended for individual outreach, not mass messaging. This allows for personalized, relevant messages.
Appear more credible
Messages come from your professional LinkedIn identity rather than a personal email account, lending more credibility and authority.
Gain insights into who’s viewed your profile
You can see which 2nd and 3rd degree connections have viewed your profile, enabling you to identify and target relevant prospects with InMail.
Overall, the ability to directly contact anyone on LinkedIn coupled with higher response rates makes InMail a go-to outreach tool for many professionals. But what acceptance rates can you expect?
InMail Acceptance Rates: The Data
So what do the numbers say about InMail acceptance and response rates on LinkedIn? Here’s a summary of data from multiple studies:
InMail vs. Email
- According to testing by Salesforge, InMails had a 36% response rate, while regular cold emails had a 6% response rate – a 6x difference!
- Research by PeopleLinx found InMail acceptance rates were 5 to 10 times higher than email.
- Experiments by MixMax showed InMails had 53% higher response rates compared to cold emails.
The data clearly shows significantly higher acceptance and response rates for InMail over regular email outreach. Let’s look at some specific InMail benchmarks.
InMail Benchmarks
- According to LinkedIn, the average InMail acceptance rate is 30%.
- Experiments by SalesHandy found an average 36.8% response rate for InMail outreach.
- Testing by Firemelon showed 47% of InMail recipients accepted the connection request.
- Research by Fractl indicates 35-45% is the expected response rate from InMail.
Based on multiple studies, the average InMail acceptance and response rate falls within the 30-45% range – significantly higher than email.
Response Rates By Job Role
Response rates can vary based on the recipient’s job role. For example:
- For outreach to C-level executives, MixMax found a 40% InMail acceptance rate.
- Managers and Directors accepted at a 42% rate in Firemelon’s tests.
- Entry-level prospects had just a 18% acceptance rate in one study.
So if targeting senior-level decision makers, expect InMail acceptance rates at the higher end of 30-45%. Entry-level roles see lower response rates.
Response Rates By Industry
Acceptance rates also fluctuate across industries. For example:
- The highest response rate of 50% was achieved when targeting people in computer software.
- Other top industries included internet (43%) and hospital & healthcare (42%).
- The lowest response rate of 27% was seen for those in package/freight delivery.
So consider the target prospect’s industry when evaluating potential InMail response rate benchmarks.
Factors That Influence InMail Acceptance Rates
Many different factors impact whether an InMail receives a response or not. Here are some of the key variables that influence InMail acceptance rates:
Personalization
Personalized messages that demonstrate familiarity with the prospect’s background and interests almost always outperform generic InMails. Taking the time to customize the message results in higher acceptance rates.
Subject Line
The subject line greatly impacts whether InMails get opened and accepted. Subject lines that communicate relevance to the recipient perform best. Avoid spammy or misleading subject lines.
Message Content
The content of the InMail itself influences response rate. Messages that communicate value, demonstrate expertise, and make a clear ask or next steps will convert better than self-promotional pitches.
Relationship Between Sender & Recipient
InMails tend to see higher acceptance rates when there is an existing connection or past relationship between the sender and recipient. For cold outreach, focus on 2nd and 3rd degree contacts.
Sender’s Profile Strength
Recipients will look at the sender’s own LinkedIn profile when evaluating an InMail request. Senders with complete profiles and obvious subject matter expertise convert better.
Recipient’s Industry & Seniority
As noted earlier, acceptance varies by industry and seniority. Factor this into your targeting and expect response rates to vary.
Recipient’s Message Volume
Executives flooded with messages are less likely to respond to every InMail. Similarly, those with few messages may eagerly reply. Gauge message volume when possible.
Timing
When you send the InMail can impact the response rate. Earlier in the week studies show the highest open and click-through rates.
Best Practices for Improving InMail Acceptance Rates
Here are some proven best practices for crafting InMails that maximize acceptance and response rates:
Research the recipient and company
Take time to understand the prospect’s background, interests, role, goals, and company before reaching out. Personalize your message accordingly.
Make the subject line compelling
Use power words, urgency, specificity, value propositions, and curiosity to make the subject line enticing and improve open rates.
Highlight value and expertise
Demonstrate your expertise and ability to provide unique value to the prospect in your message. Focus on their needs rather than a sales pitch.
Keep it brief
InMails with concise and scannable value propositions see higher response rates. Get to the point quickly within 2-3 short paragraphs.
Suggest a quick 15-minute meeting
Proposing a short exploratory meeting or 15-minute call gives the next step and improves conversion rates.
Provide options to connect
Give multiple options like LinkedIn, email, phone, etc. to make responding frictionless. The easier to say yes, the better.
Follow up once after 3-5 days
If no response to the initial InMail, follow up once referring back to the original request. Then move on if no answer.
Following best practices like personalization, compelling subject lines, value focus, brevity, and clear calls to action will optimize InMail performance. Test and refine your outreach framework to maximize acceptance.
Should You Use InMail or Email?
Given the significantly higher acceptance rates, is InMail always better for outreach versus email? Some key considerations:
- For open profiling, InMail enables you to see exactly who viewed your LinkedIn profile.
- Cold outreach performs far better on LinkedIn versus cold email.
- With email you can include richer content and creative assets to stand out.
- Response tracking for email can give added analytics into open/click rates.
- More customization options are available when sending emails at scale.
- With InMail you are restricted to LinkedIn’s messaging platform only.
Weigh the pros and cons of both approaches and test them for your specific outreach campaigns. Often a cross-channel approach works best. Strategically combine both InMail and email as you expand your reach.
Tools to Manage InMail Outreach
Conducting personalized InMail outreach manually requires significant effort and time. Tools exist to help streamline and scale the process. Here are some top options:
LinkedIn Automation Tools
- Dux-Soup
- Linkody
- Seamless.ai
- PersistIQ
- Mailshake
- Woodpecker
- Octopus CRM
These tools help automate various parts of LinkedIn outreach like identifying prospects, sending messages, and tracking responses.
Email Automation Platforms
Many email marketing and sales engagement platforms also have LinkedIn integration for InMail automation, such as Outreach.io, Salesloft, Mailchimp, and more.
The right automation tool can save hours of manual work reaching out to prospects on LinkedIn. But take care to maintain personalization and avoid spam-like behavior.
Should You Buy More InMail Credits?
Since InMail messages have quantity limits per month for regular users, is it worth purchasing more InMail credits from LinkedIn? Here are some factors to consider:
- How quickly are you consuming your allotted monthly credits?
- What is your InMail response and conversion rate?
- What is the expected ROI of additional qualified leads?
- How large is your total prospect pool size?
- Are there unused audiences you could engage?
- Can you refine targeting and messaging to improve results?
- What is your available marketing and outreach budget?
Evaluate the pace you are using up credits, your conversion metrics, prospect pool, and expected ROI. If the opportunity is there, purchasing additional credits can directly boost qualified leads. But first optimize conversion rates and tap all available prospects before spending more.
Key Takeaways and Conclusions
Here are the key takeaways on InMail acceptance rates on LinkedIn:
- Compared to cold email, InMail sees much higher average response rates of 30-45%.
- Acceptance varies based on factors like seniority, industry, personalization, etc.
- Following best practices can significantly boost your InMail conversion rates.
- InMail and email both have pros and cons as outreach channels.
- Automation tools help streamline LinkedIn messaging at scale.
- Only purchase more InMail credits once you’ve optimized targeting and conversion rates.
In summary, take advantage of the higher acceptance rates of InMail to expand your LinkedIn outreach. But combine it strategically with email as well. Test and refine your messaging, targeting, and automation process to see even greater results. Track conversion metrics closely to maximize your LinkedIn efforts.
