Here’s a recent screenshot of my LinkedIn connection request screen:
They’re both using the same spam template. Without accepting either request, I asked who was running their LinkedIn campaigns. (No response yet.)
I get a lot of connection requests like this, although it was funny to see two in a row that clearly came from the same template.
It must work for some people (on some people?), just like email spam. It’s a question of quantity, not quality. Although I have to imagine that a lot of potential prospects find the outreach so off-putting that they don’t want to do business with spammers.
If you’re going to do actual personal connections on LinkedIn, include a real note about why you’re connecting. Not the usual b.s.– imagine you were talking to the person– what would you say?
If you’re going to do automated outreach for LinkedIn lead generation, which I don’t think is necessarily evil, try to imagine the recipient’s perspective. What are you bringing to the table that would make someone want to listen to you?
Part of this is a segmentation issue. Are you even targeting people who are in your market? (A lot of the LinkedIn spam I get is comically untargeted.) If they are in your target market, what do you have to offer?
This is basically the Lead Magnet question.
For example, suppose the first connection request, from someone selling something to do with password management, had something like “The 7 Hidden Revenue Leaks from Bad Password Management for [your industry]”. Is it perfect? No. But it’s much more intriguing than what I got. You could personalize further, for example, by targeting HR people with a different message about managing onboarding and terminating employees. Or a campaign for VPs of Sales in compliance-heavy industries showing how better password management can speed up sales cycles.
Suppose the second request, on copywriting, offered something like “Get Our Quick Copy Checklist to Maximize Traffic and Conversions”.
[I’m making up these examples– someone who is actually in these industries can probably give better ones.]
We’re all busy people, listening to the radio station WSIC (why should I care?). Don’t assume that people will want to jump straight to an obvious sales conversation based on a spam connection request. Give them something useful first.