What should I send after someone accepts my LinkedIn connection request?

One message with no pitch and one question about them, ideally about the thing they posted. Hold back the case study, the showreel and the call. If there's no reply after four business days, send one short note that leaves them a way out, and if they go quiet for two or three months, introduce yourself properly with one line on who you help and one question.

Field Guides / Marketing

How do I connect with the right people on LinkedIn without being a pest?

Q: What should a LinkedIn connection note say?

Refer to something specific the person posted and say in one line what you do: "Hi [first name], I enjoyed your post on [topic], especially [the specific point]. We do a fair bit of video work for [sector] in [region], so I thought I'd see if it's OK to connect here." Keep it short, write each one yourself, and only send it to someone who's already seen your name, because you've commented on their post.

Fix your profile first, then comment thoughtfully on posts in rooms where your clients already talk, and send a connection request only to someone you've already engaged with, always with a personal note. When they accept, send one message with no pitch and one question. In my own test, a personal note got 65 per cent of requests accepted, against about 25 per cent with no note at all.

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Why does LinkedIn outreach make you feel like a pest?

LinkedIn outreach feels like pestering when it's a templated request from a stranger, followed by a pitch.

I taught the volume version years ago: 50 to 100 connection requests a day from a search list. Even then, my own numbers pointed somewhere else. Requests where I'd read the person's profile and written something about them were accepted far more often.

What works now runs in the other order. You show up first in a conversation your client is already reading, and people come to look at you. I reacted to a post from one of my connections and within 39 minutes he'd been back to my profile.

How to connect with the right people on LinkedIn: the method, step by step

The method is six steps in a fixed order: profile, rooms, comment, connect, first message, follow-up.

Fix your profile before you comment anywhere. Write it in the first person, about the people you help. Your headline is your message equation. Allow two to four hours.

Copy and paste: the profile checklist

Photo: a clear shot of your face.

Headline: who you help and the result, in one line. We help [niche] get [result] through [offer].

About, first line: "Thanks for visiting my profile."

About, next lines: who you work with; what you've done for clients like them; why you do this work; the problem you solve.

One recent client quote, with their name and role.

How to get in touch: "What's your biggest challenge with [topic] at the moment? Send me a message here or email [address]."

Written in the first person, in short paragraphs with line breaks.

Client testimonial videos on the profile. Shot on a phone is fine.

Company page: one paragraph on who you work with and when you get the best results, plus your website.

Connections: people in your target market, and close friends.

Choose your rooms. A room is a post and the people reading it. Before you comment, run three checks: is the host's audience your client, is the host plausibly open to the conversation, and would your comment be a question or a correction? If the readers aren't people who buy video, or your comment would correct the host in public, leave it. In Sales Navigator, LinkedIn's paid search, the filter for people who've posted in the last 30 days shows who's active.
Comment before you connect. Add something or ask something, and never pitch in a comment. Two or three comments on one thread is plenty; more and you're camping in someone else's thread. Done looks like: one comment on their post, logged.
Send the request with a personal note. Refer to their post, say in one line what you do, and keep it short. Check who's viewed your profile too: anyone in your market who looked you up after you commented on their post is ready for a request.

Copy and paste: the connection note, after you've commented on their post

Hi [first name], I enjoyed your post on [topic], especially [the specific point]. We do a fair bit of video work for [sector] in [region], so I thought I'd see if it's OK to connect here.

[Your name]

Send one message after they accept: no pitch, one question. The question is about them, ideally the thing they posted about. Hold back the case study, the showreel and the call, and keep commenting on their posts.

Copy and paste: the first message after they accept

Thanks for connecting, [first name]. You won't get a long pitch from me. I'd like to hear more about [their business, or the thing from their post].

How are things at the moment with [the specific thing]?

[Your name]

Follow up, and log every contact. No reply after four business days gets one short note that leaves them a way out. Two or three months of quiet gets a proper introduction. When someone asks for more by email, take it to email (the follow-up email guide covers what to send next). Every accepted request gets a next step and a date in your log.

Copy and paste: the two follow-up notes

After four business days with no reply:

Hi [first name], we've been connected for a few days, so I thought I'd say hello. I think LinkedIn works best person to person, so if you're happy to, I'd like to learn a bit about what you do. That way, if I come across someone who'd be a good contact for you, I can point them your way. All good if not, I'm happy to stay a quiet connection and follow your posts.

[Your name]

After two or three months of quiet:

Hi [first name], we've been connected for a while now and I wanted to introduce myself properly. I run [company]. We help [niche] get [result] through [offer]. I'm curious, is [the kind of video you make] something you've used before?

[Your name]

What does a weekly LinkedIn routine look like?

A weekly LinkedIn routine is three jobs in one booked block: comment, connect, follow up, in that order. Set your own numbers in the template. The one figure that comes from me is five a day: five people a day is enough if each one gets a personal note.

Copy and paste: the weekly LinkedIn routine (a template)

Booked time: [days] at [time], [minutes] each, in the diary before the week starts.

1. Comment. Read new posts from [number] people on my list or people my clients listen to. Three checks first: is this audience my client, is the host open to the conversation, would my comment be a question or a correction? Comment on [number] posts. No pitch, no links.

2. Connect. [five] requests a day, each with a personal note, only to people whose post I've commented on, who've commented on mine, or who viewed my profile after I commented on their post.

3. Follow up. The first message (one question, no pitch) to everyone who accepted. Four business days with no reply: the second note. Two to three months of quiet: the re-introduction.

4. Log. Name / company / role / where we met / date connected / what I sent / replied (yes or no) / next step and date.

End of the week: conversations started [ ]. Next steps due [ ].

Not sure LinkedIn is the right channel? Run the seven-day outreach test in the content or outreach guide first.

A worked example: my own connection test

My connection test sent requests to 76 people in my own market, in three batches at different times, and the main thing I changed was the note.

How I sent the request	Sent	Accepted	Accept rate
A personal note, written after reading their profile and website	23	15	65%
A templated note, the same for almost everyone	26	10	38%
No note	27	7	about 25%

I wrote the 23 personal notes in one evening on the sofa. A later test pointed the same way: 37 in every 100 accepted with a note, 22 without. From connections like these, several people became podcast guests and one became a good friend.

Those tests were cold. There's no figure yet for a note sent after a comment; 65 per cent is the one to beat.

Slow threads are normal. Years ago, from a campaign my team ran, a production company owner replied and told me about an idea he was working on. I offered a call to help him think it through. He was busy and the call didn't happen. In the meantime I sent him two podcast episodes about a company that specialises in one of his target markets. About nine months after his first reply, I offered him a free guide I'd written. He said yes, the conversation moved to email, we had the call, and he joined the programme.

The mistakes that undo it

LinkedIn connecting goes wrong in five predictable ways.

Connecting with strangers in volume. Fifty to 100 requests a day fills your network with people who'll never buy from you.
Pitching in the first message. Lead with something useful so you leave a good impression.
Commenting in the wrong room. A comment sits in front of the host's audience, and a room full of other video producers won't hire you. Correcting a large creator in public gets you seen as the critic, by an audience that isn't buying.
Automating it. Browser extensions that auto-connect you with anyone can get your account restricted. Sending these scripts word for word does smaller damage: when everyone sends the same lines, they stop working.
Keeping a network that isn't your market. I once had about 2,800 connections and spent a day removing everyone who wasn't a close friend or in my market. Do the same.

The rule of thumb for connecting on LinkedIn

Comment before you connect, and only send a request to someone who's already seen your name.

The benchmark is five requests a day, every one with a personal note, and every accepted request with a next step and a date in your log.

Hold yourself accountable

Which of these have you taken on or put in place recently?

Your profile is in the first person, opens with "Thanks for visiting my profile", and your headline says who you help.
You ran the three room checks before each of your last three comments.
Every connection request you sent this week had a personal note that referred to something they'd posted.
Every new connection got one message with one question and no pitch, and has a next step in your log.

Your one move this week

What's the one thing you can commit to implementing this week? If you're not sure, start here.

Rewrite your headline as your message equation and open your About section with "Thanks for visiting my profile". Then find one post your clients would read, run the three checks, leave a comment that asks a question, and log it.

One thing executed every week creates 50 strategic moves a year.

Questions like these come up regularly on our weekly Elite Boardroom calls. If you'd like someone to hold you to account each week, and to learn from a group of peers who run video businesses too, the Boardroom is for you.