LinkedIn Cold Message: 8 Templates for After They Accept
Eight first messages for LinkedIn, the day to send each one and the single line you change for every prospect.
Robbert Veer, Founder
8 min read
A LinkedIn cold message is the first direct message you send to someone who doesn't know you, either after they accept your connection request or as a paid InMail. Keep it under 75 words, with one finding from their website and one question. Here is one you can copy now.
Hi [first name],
Thanks for connecting. I looked at [company]'s website before I sent the request. [One specific finding.]
Want me to send over what I'd change?
[Your name]
Seven more follow, each for one moment after the request.
Who can you send a LinkedIn cold message to?
On a free account, only people who have accepted your connection request. LinkedIn's help page on InMail messages says that with a Basic account "you can only directly message LinkedIn members that you're connected to." We read the page on Nov 10, 2026.
That leaves three routes.
| Route | Who can use it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| A note with the connection request | Any account | A short note with its own limits. See our connection message templates |
| A message after they accept | Any account | The only direct message a free account can send |
| InMail | Premium accounts | Each one uses a credit. LinkedIn returns the credit when the recipient accepts the InMail, and no plan has unlimited credits |
A member can also switch InMail off, and then nobody can send them one.
For most agencies, then, a cold message is the first message after an acceptance. The owner has already said a small yes. The message has to earn the next one.
When should you send each message?
Send the first message within a day of the acceptance. If there is no answer, send one follow-up four days later. Then stop.
The four-day gap is borrowed from the sequence we know best. In Leadodo, your Outbound Machine runs six steps over 19 working days and has its two LinkedIn steps four working days apart.
| Day | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 | A posted letter arrives |
| 4, 7 and 11 | Emails |
| 15 | |
| 19 |
Day 15 is a connection request with a message. When the person accepts, a second message follows. A direct message needs a connection, so while a request is still pending there is nothing to send. Leave it.
By day 15 a letter and three emails have gone out, so the LinkedIn message never has to introduce you from zero. Our guide to LinkedIn outreach for agencies explains why the channel comes last.
The templates
Each LinkedIn message template below is written for one moment. Square brackets mark the parts you change. Larkin Auto Repair at larkinautorepair.example and its owner are made up.
1. The finding
For the first message after a blank request is accepted.
Hi [first name],
Thanks for connecting. Before I sent the request I opened [company]'s website on my phone. [Specific finding.]
[One sentence on what that means for a customer.]
Want me to send over what I'd change?
[Your name]
Filled in.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for connecting. Before I sent the request I opened Larkin Auto Repair's website on my phone. The "Book a service" button opens a form with 14 fields.
That is a lot to type with one thumb in a parking lot.
Want me to send over what I'd change?
Why it works. The owner can check the finding in ten seconds, and the question takes one word to answer.
2. The letter reference
For an owner who accepted after your letter and emails.
Hi [first name],
Thanks for accepting. I'm the person who posted you a letter about [company]'s website on [date]. The short version is [one-line finding].
If the letter reached you, I'd welcome your view. If it didn't, I can send the details here.
[Your name]
Filled in.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for accepting. I'm the person who posted you a letter about Larkin Auto Repair's website on April 6. The short version is that the booking form asks for 14 fields on a phone.
If the letter reached you, I'd welcome your view. If it didn't, I can send the details here.
Why it works. Three channels now carry the same finding, which reads as one person making an effort. Read more on why the letter goes first.
3. The right person
For a business where you are unsure who handles the website.
Hi [first name],
Thanks for connecting. One question. Who looks after [company]'s website, you or someone on your team? I found [finding] and want to send it to the right person.
[Your name]
Why it works. It is easy to answer, and a message passed on by the owner gets read.
4. The recording offer
For an owner who accepted and has little time.
Hi [first name],
Thanks for connecting. I can record a 2-minute walk through [company]'s site on a phone, showing [finding] and what I'd do about it.
Shall I send it here?
[Your name]
Why it works. A recording asks for two minutes and no meeting.
5. The InMail
For a Premium account writing to an owner who is not a connection.
Subject: [Company]'s website on a phone
Hi [first name],
We haven't met. I build websites for [trade] in [area], and this week I opened [company]'s site on my phone. [Specific finding.]
I wrote down what I'd fix first. Shall I send it?
[Your name]
Filled in.
Subject: Larkin Auto Repair's website on a phone
Hi Ben,
We haven't met. I build websites for auto shops in Dayton, and this week I opened Larkin Auto Repair's site on my phone. The opening hours on the homepage don't match the hours on your Google listing.
I wrote down what I'd fix first. Shall I send it?
Why it works. "We haven't met" is honest, and the subject names the owner's business. Write the list before you send this.
6. The second finding
For the follow-up, four days after a first message with no answer.
Hi [first name], one more thing I saw on [company]'s site. [A second finding, different from the first.] No reply needed if the timing is off.
Why it works. It adds something new. "Just following up" adds nothing.
7. The last message
For the follow-up when you have no second finding.
Hi [first name], I'll leave it here. If the website moves up your list, my notes on [company] are saved and I'm one message away.
Why it works. It ends the pressure and leaves the door open.
Use template 6 or template 7, never both. One message and one follow-up is the whole of it.
What should you change before sending?
The finding. Every message on this page hangs on one true observation about that owner's website. A LinkedIn outreach template with the brackets left vague is the note the owner already ignores from other senders.
Three steps turn a website into that line.
- Open the site on your phone. Use it the way a customer on the road would.
- Write down the first thing that stops you. A button you can't tap, a form that errors, hours that don't match the Google listing.
- Say what happened in one sentence. "The form asked me for 14 fields" is a fact. "Your form is too long" is an opinion.
Our own study put a manual review of 1,382 websites at about 184 hours, or about 8 minutes a site. At that pace 20 prospects take 160 minutes and 2,000 take about 267 hours. Twip, the AI inside Leadodo, scores every website in a search, and its findings become the opening line of each letter and email. Reuse that line on LinkedIn.
The same study is our evidence that the website is the place to look. Across 3,570 cold emails to Dutch companies, businesses with the weakest 20% of websites replied positively about 3.2 times as often as a random sample of the rest. Emails that named the problem scored 2.35% against 1.60% for a generic email, a gap that was not statistically significant. The test covered email only and says nothing about LinkedIn. The details are in our write-up of the test.
What should you never do in a LinkedIn cold message?
- Pitch in the first line. The owner accepted a contact. A price list in the first message breaks that.
- Paste your email. A LinkedIn message is a chat. Keep it under 75 words. The longer version belongs in an email, and our cold email templates cover that.
- Send a calendar link unasked. Ask the question first. Send the link when they say yes.
- Keep going after a no. A no ends the sequence, on every channel.
Questions
Can you message someone on LinkedIn without connecting?
Only with InMail, which is a Premium feature, or with the short note on a connection request. LinkedIn's help page says a Basic account can only directly message members it is connected to. Members can also switch InMail off, and then nobody can send them one.
How long should a LinkedIn cold message be?
Under 75 words is our rule. The three filled-in examples on this page run from 50 to 54 words, leaving out the InMail subject line. A LinkedIn message opens in a chat window, where a long text looks like a pasted email. One finding and one question fit in three or four sentences.
How many follow-ups should you send on LinkedIn?
One. Send it four days after the first message, with a second finding or a clear goodbye. An owner who has ignored a letter, three emails and two LinkedIn messages has given you an answer.
Is InMail worth paying for?
We have no data of our own on InMail, so we quote no reply rate. LinkedIn's help page says credits depend on your plan, no plan has unlimited credits, and a credit comes back when the recipient accepts the InMail. For a local owner who already got your letter and emails, a free connection request is the cheaper first try.
Next step. With your Outbound Machine a posted letter arrives on day 1, emails follow on days 4, 7 and 11, and LinkedIn comes on days 15 and 19. It stops for every business that replies. See the sequence.
