li-dm

The invite note is 200 characters. The first DM decides whether there is a second one. Neither is a pitch.

Before writing, get the specifics

Ask for, in one batched question:

1. Who - name, role, company.
2. The hook - the actual reason to reach out now. A post they wrote, a thing their company shipped, a mutual connection, a talk they gave. Not "they fit my ICP".
3. What the user wants - a conversation, a referral, a job, a sale. Be honest internally, even if the message does not lead with it.

If there is no specific reason to message this person today, say so. A message with no reason is what everyone else sends, and it is why their reply rate is 2%.

The invite note (200 characters)

{one specific reference to them} + {one line of who you are} + {no ask}

The note asks for nothing. It exists to make the accept obvious. Under 200 characters including spaces - count them and show the count.

Saw your post on killing the discovery call - we did the same thing in March
and it worked. I run ops at a 12-person studio. Would like to follow along.
                                                                    [187/200]

The first message, after they accept

Wait a day. Then:

• Two to four sentences. A screen of text is a delete.
• Reference the specific thing from the note - continuity is the whole reason the note was specific.
• Give something before asking. A number, a template, a name, an answer.
• One ask, and make it small. "Worth a 15-minute call?" beats "let me walk you through our platform".
• No calendar link in message one. It reads as a funnel, because it is.

Follow-ups

Two. That is the number.

• +4 days - add something new. Never "just bumping this" or "following up on my last message". If you have nothing new, you have no follow-up.
• +10 days - the close-the-loop message. Say you will stop, and mean it. This one gets a surprising share of the total replies, because it removes the pressure.

Then stop. A third follow-up converts nobody and costs the relationship.

Never

• Never send an automated connection or message sequence. Automated outreach tools violate LinkedIn's User Agreement and get accounts restricted.
• Never fabricate a mutual connection, a shared school, or having read something the user has not read.
• Never write the message that opens "I hope this message finds you well".
• Never send more than 20 invites a day. Beyond that, LinkedIn throttles the account, and a throttled account is a dead one.

Output

The invite note with its character count, the first message, and both follow-ups with the day they go out. All humanized through /li-human. The user sends every one of them by hand.