Most LinkedIn connection requests get ignored because they either say nothing at all or try to sell something before anyone has agreed to talk to you. A connection request has one job: give a real person a real reason to accept. The pitch comes later, in the follow-up, and only after they have already said yes to hearing from you.
The connection request: reason only, never a pitch
LinkedIn caps a connection note at roughly 300 characters and truncates anything longer, so the note has room for one idea. That idea should never be what you sell. It should be why you, specifically, are asking to connect with them, specifically, right now.
- Skip the greeting. “Hi [name], I hope you are well” spends characters on nothing.
- Do not mention your product, service, or offer at all in this note.
- If you genuinely have a reason (a shared connection, their recent post, a trigger event), name it in one line. If you do not, say why their role or situation caught your attention instead of inventing a connection you do not have.
The follow-up DM: earn it, then ask for one small thing
Once someone accepts, you have permission to say more, but not much more. Open with something specific to them, the same reason you connected or a new detail about their role or company, then explain what you do in one short line. Close with exactly one easy ask that matches what you actually want.
- Lead with them, not you. The first line should not be about your product.
- Keep it to two to four short lines. A long DM reads like a sales sequence, not a person.
- Mention what you offer in one short clause only, after the specific opening line, never as the headline.
Match the ask to your goal
What you ask for should match why you are reaching out. A call, a reply, and a resource are three different asks, and mixing them muddies the message.
- Booking a call: ask if a short 15 to 20 minute call would be useful, on a day rather than a specific time, and let them offer a slot back.
- Starting a conversation: ask one specific question about their situation, something only they can answer, not a generic ice breaker.
- Sharing a resource: offer something concrete, a guide, an example, or a short teardown, and ask if they would like it, rather than sending it unprompted.
Example
Common mistakes
- Pitching in the connection request. It reads as spam before you have even said hello.
- Inventing a shared connection or a comment you never actually left. It is easy to check and it kills trust fast.
- Stacking two asks in the follow-up. One clear, small ask gets a reply; two gets ignored.