Every LinkedIn cold message template here is grouped by the situation you are writing in, with placeholders and a note on when it backfires.

What a LinkedIn cold message template is

A LinkedIn cold message template is a reusable structure for writing to someone who has never spoken to you: an opening line about the reader, one line that explains why you are writing, one ask, and placeholders where the specifics go.

It is a shape, not a finished message. The template decides the order of the ideas and the size of the ask. You still have to supply the reason, and the reason is the only part the reader cares about.

LinkedIn is not email with a different logo. The reader can see your photo, your headline and your last post before deciding whether to open the message, and there is no unsubscribe link between you. That changes what a template can get away with.

Sellers use the word template for two different things: a finished message they paste and send, and a structure they fill in. Only the second kind survives contact with a real prospect. The first kind is the one your industry has already read twice this quarter.

This page is the message library for cold outreach on LinkedIn. The surrounding method, building the lists, running the search and setting the cadence, sits on our LinkedIn prospecting guide.

LinkedIn cold outreach compared with cold email

Cold outreach on LinkedIn and cold email are not the same job with a different address bar. A template that earns replies in a sales inbox usually fails in LinkedIn messaging, because the reader can see exactly who is writing before deciding to open it.

Most sales teams end up keeping two libraries of templates for that reason: one for the inbox, one for LinkedIn messaging. This page is the LinkedIn one. How the two channels are timed against each other belongs in your sales outreach plan.

The limits LinkedIn sets on each message type

Every template below has to fit inside a box LinkedIn defines. The box is different for each route, and picking the wrong route is a more common failure than picking the wrong words.

Two rules shape the whole library. LinkedIn states that InMail is designed for initial outreach only and that you cannot send a follow-up InMail unless the recipient accepts and responds. Its Professional Community Policies say not to use the invitation feature to send promotional messages to people you do not know.

LinkedIn also caps invitations without publishing the weekly number. Its Help pages say a restriction usually lasts a week, that withdrawing pending invitations will not remove it, and that after a withdrawal you cannot invite the same person again for up to three weeks. Our LinkedIn connection limit entry covers that in detail.

The four parts of a LinkedIn cold message

Strip any message that earns a reply and the same four parts are there, in the same order.

• The reason line. What you saw, and why it made you write today. A post, a job posting, a role change, a group, a mutual contact.
• The relevance line. One sentence connecting that observation to a problem people in their seat actually have. Not your product, the problem.
• The ask. One question, answerable in a line, that a busy stranger can say yes or no to without a calendar.
• The exit. A short signature, and a way to say no that costs them nothing. On LinkedIn there is no unsubscribe, so you supply one.

The reason line is the only part a template cannot write for you. Everything else can be structured in advance, which is what the blocks below do.

How long a LinkedIn cold message should be

Length is set by the route, not by taste. A connection note has 200 characters, which is about 35 words, so it holds one observation and one plain sentence about why you want to connect. Nothing else fits.

A first message after acceptance should still read in one screen on a phone, which in practice means four short lines. An InMail body can run to 1,900 characters (LinkedIn's general FAQ says 2,000), and using all of them is the fastest way to look like a mail merge with a bigger budget.

LinkedIn's own guidance for writing InMail messages is short: be brief and to the point, mention the profile content that prompted you to write, and give the reader a reason to reply by asking for advice, opinions or referrals.

The one ask, and why a second question kills the first

Two questions in a cold message do not double your chances. They make the reader choose which one to answer, and choosing is work, so the message gets left for later and later never comes.

The ask should also match how far you have earned the right to ask. A stranger who has read one message from you owes you nothing, so a 30 minute call is a large request and permission to send something is a small one.

LinkedIn prospecting messages examples, grouped by situation

The 16 blocks below are LinkedIn prospecting messages examples written for this page, not collected from anyone's campaigns. They are grouped by the situation you are writing in, because the situation decides the route, the length and the size of the ask. Between them they cover most of what a sales team writes into.

Each block gives you a label, the placeholders to replace, and a note on when that template backfires. Read the backfire note first. It is usually the reason a message that works for one seller reads as spam from another.

• Replace every placeholder. A stray set of braces in a sent LinkedIn message is the clearest proof of automation there is.
• Rewrite the first line in your own words. It is the only part that shows a person, not a tool, chose to write to this reader.
• Keep the route. A note written for 200 characters does not become an InMail by adding paragraphs to it.

Connection request notes that get accepted

The note has one job: earn the connection. It does not sell, it does not link, and it does not ask for time. LinkedIn treats invitations that sit unanswered or get marked as spam as a reason to restrict an account, so a note that overreaches costs more than a lost prospect.

1. After something they published

Hi {{firstName}}, your post on {{topic}} said the part most {{role}} posts skip. I work on {{area}} and would like to keep reading what you write.

2. Through a mutual connection

Hi {{firstName}}, {{mutualName}} and I worked together on {{project}}, and your name came up when we talked about {{topic}}. Glad to connect.

3. After an event or a shared group

Hi {{firstName}}, we were both at {{eventName}}. Your question about {{topic}} was the one I left thinking about too. Connecting so I can follow what you publish.

4. A peer with no trigger at all

Hi {{firstName}}, I run {{area}} at {{companyName}} and read most of what {{role}}s in {{industry}} publish about {{topic}}. Connecting for that reason only.

The message after a connection is accepted

This is where most LinkedIn outreach dies. The note earned the connection on a promise of no pitch, and the message that arrives an hour later pitches. The reader does not withdraw the connection, they just stop reading anything you send.

The fix is to continue the reason you gave, offer exactly one thing, and ask one question that lets them end it politely.

5. Continue the reason from the note

Thanks for connecting, {{firstName}}.

The {{topic}} point you made lines up with what {{role}} teams keep telling us. We wrote our version down as {{resource}}.

Want it, or is that already handled on your side?

{{senderName}}

6. Offer one thing, no call attached

Hi {{firstName}}, thanks for the connection.

I put together {{resource}} for {{role}}s dealing with {{problem}}. It takes about {{minutes}} minutes to read and there is no call attached to it.

Say the word and I will paste it here.

{{senderName}}

7. The diagnostic question

Hi {{firstName}}, quick question rather than a pitch.

When {{role}} teams at {{industry}} companies handle {{process}}, it usually breaks at {{stage}}.

Is that where it breaks for you, or somewhere else entirely?

{{senderName}}

LinkedIn messages by trigger

A trigger is a dated event that gives you a reason to write today rather than last month or next year. It also sets the window. Our trigger marketing entry covers how the signals are built; these are the messages that sit on top of them.

8. A new role or a job change

Congratulations on the move to {{companyName}}, {{firstName}}.

New owners of {{area}} usually spend the first weeks deciding what to keep. We wrote down the {{problem}} questions the last few {{role}}s asked us.

Useful, or too early?

{{senderName}}

9. An open job posting

Hi {{firstName}}, I saw {{companyName}} is hiring a {{jobTitle}}.

That role usually gets opened when {{problem}} has outgrown the current setup. We work on that part with {{role}} teams.

Worth a short exchange here, or is the hire the whole plan?

{{senderName}}

10. Funding, expansion or a new market

Hi {{firstName}}, {{companyName}} announcing {{event}} is the reason I am writing.

Teams going through that usually hit {{problem}} a quarter or two later, because {{reason}}.

Happy to send what we have seen work, no call needed. Want it?

{{senderName}}

11. A change in their stack

Hi {{firstName}}, I noticed {{companyName}} started using {{tool}}.

The part teams usually rebuild around it is {{process}}, and it tends to surface about {{timeframe}} in.

Do you want the checklist we use for that, or are you past it already?

{{senderName}}

12. They engaged with your content

Hi {{firstName}}, you commented on my post about {{topic}}, so I owe you a proper answer.

Short version: {{answer}}. The longer version is in {{resource}}, which I can paste here.

What made the topic land for you?

{{senderName}}

Messages to people outside your network

When the Connect button is missing, the invitation is pending, or the reader is out of network, two routes remain. Both are covered by LinkedIn's rules rather than by your preference, and both are described on our what is InMail on LinkedIn page.

A message request reaches coworkers and fellow group members you are not connected to. The recipient accepts or privately declines, and LinkedIn does not tell you which happened. Read receipts appear only after they accept, so silence is genuinely silent.

13. InMail with the reason in the subject

Subject: your {{topic}} post, and one question

Hi {{firstName}},

You wrote that {{observation}}. We hear the same thing from {{role}}s at {{industry}} companies, usually because {{reason}}.

I can send the one page we use for it. Want it, or is this the wrong week?

{{senderName}}

14. A message request through a shared group

Hi {{firstName}}, we are both in {{groupName}}.

Your point in the {{threadTopic}} thread is the one I keep arguing internally. We ended up building {{approach}} around it.

Would the write-up be useful, or is that a solved problem for you?

{{senderName}}

Follow-up on LinkedIn, and when to stop

Follow-up on LinkedIn behaves differently from email. The messages stack in one thread the reader can scroll, so a third nudge with nothing new in it is visibly a third nudge. InMail has no follow-up at all until the recipient responds.

Two follow-ups after the first message is enough for most sellers, spaced across business days rather than hours. The pacing belongs in your sales cadence, not in the template.

15. One follow-up with something new in it

Hi {{firstName}}, adding one thing rather than repeating myself.

{{newFact}}, which is the part {{role}} teams usually find out the hard way.

Still happy to send {{resource}}. A "no thanks" is a completely fine answer.

{{senderName}}

16. The last message in the thread

Hi {{firstName}}, I will leave this here.

If {{problem}} becomes a priority at {{companyName}}, my messages stay open and you can reply to this one.

If someone else owns it, a name is all I need and I will stop writing to you.

{{senderName}}

What gets ignored, and why

Messages are not usually rejected. They are skipped in a list of notifications, which means the decision happens in the preview line, before any of your copy is read.

Most of these are tone problems rather than copy problems, and tone is what our salesy entry is about. A template cannot fix a message that is asking for too much too early.

The placeholders, and how to fill them

Every block above uses double-brace placeholders so the unfilled ones are impossible to miss. They fall into three groups, and they are not equally safe.

Use your ideal customer profile to decide which segments get their own set of the reusable placeholders. Two or three sets, one per industry you sell into, is usually enough to start.

One placeholder deserves its own rule. Fill the first name slot with the name the person uses in their headline and signs their own posts with, not the name in the profile URL and not a full legal name they never use. A wrong name costs more than a missing sentence.

Which template fits which situation

What to check before you write

The research is the template. Everything below takes a couple of minutes per prospect, and it decides whether the message reads as work or as a send.

• The name they use. Take the first name from the headline and the way they sign their own posts, not from the profile URL. A shortened name typed in full is a small, loud tell.
• The role, and how long in it. Time in seat sets both the trigger and the window, and it tells you whether this person owns the problem or inherited it from someone who left.
• The company. Size, industry, market and what the company page has published recently. A message aimed at the wrong size of company is wrong before the first line.
• Their last few posts and comments. This is where reason lines come from. It is also where you find out they already sell something adjacent to yours.
• What they say about being contacted. Some profiles state it plainly in the About section, and ignoring that line is the one mistake no template survives.
• Whether a colleague already wrote. Two sellers from one company in one week reads as a campaign, whatever each message says.

Cap the time you spend. If a prospect needs 20 minutes of research to produce one specific sentence, the list is wrong rather than the message, and the fix is upstream in how the leads were built.

How to turn a LinkedIn cold message template into a sent message

1. Check the account before the person

   Confirm the company matches who you sell to and could actually buy. A perfect trigger at a company that will never be a customer wastes a send and part of your invitation allowance.

2. Pick the route, then the block

   Look at the profile: connected, out of network, shared group, Connect button missing. The route decides the length and whether a credit is involved, so choose it before you choose the words.

3. Date the trigger

   Find when the post, the posting, the role change or the announcement happened, and compare it with the window in the table above. If the window has closed, pick a different reason to write.

4. Write the first line yourself

   Say what you saw and why it made you write today, in one plain sentence. Every other line can come from the template, but this one cannot be merged from a field.

5. Fill or delete every placeholder

   Replace each one with something you verified. If a slot cannot be filled with a true specific, remove the sentence around it rather than softening it into something vague.

6. Cut to one ask, proofread, send, log it

   Delete the second question, read it once on a phone screen, send, and record which block went out so you can tell later which situations your replies come from.

Where these messages sit in a sequence

No single template is a campaign. The library works as a route through a small number of steps, with an exit at every one of them.

If the invitation is never accepted, the branch is block 13 or 14, not a second invitation. LinkedIn does not let you resend to the same person for up to three weeks after a withdrawal, and repeated pending invitations are one of the stated reasons accounts get restricted.

Anything that sends these for you is covered by LinkedIn's rules on LinkedIn automation, and an account that messages faster than a person could is the account that gets limited.

How a sales team should run a message library

A set of LinkedIn templates goes stale the moment every seller keeps a private copy of it. Cold outreach that keeps working is shared, named and reviewed, which is a process problem rather than a copywriting one.

• Give every block a name and a number. "Note 03" is something a sales team can talk about in a pipeline review. "The one I use for events" is not.
• Keep one owner for the library. One person edits the templates, everyone else proposes changes. Otherwise the same message drifts into six versions with no record of which one earned the replies.
• Suppress by company, not by person. Two sellers messaging two people at one company in one week reads as a campaign. Check the account before the send, not after the complaint.
• Log which block went out. Put it on the lead record with the trigger and the date. Without that, nobody can say which situations produce replies and which just produce activity.
• Review by industry, not in general. A block that is dead in one market is often fine in another, so look at the results segment by segment before rewriting anything.
• Rewrite the reason lines, keep the shape. When a block stops working, the wording is usually tired and the structure is not. Change one element at a time.

A shared library also makes the messaging consistent when leads answer. Two sellers using the same specific words for the same problem sound like a company; two sellers improvising sound like two strangers.

Mistakes that ruin a good template

• Sending the same block to everyone in a company on the same afternoon.
• Breaking the promise in the note with the first message after acceptance.
• Spending an InMail credit on someone whose Connect button was visible.
• Treating a reaction on an old post as buying intent.
• Writing 1,900 characters because InMail allows 1,900 characters.
• Leaving a placeholder in the sent message, or merging a fact you never verified.
• Asking for a call in the first message to a stranger who has read nothing of yours.
• Following up a closing message with a new sequence two weeks later.
• Copying a template word for word, so your market reads it twice in a month.

What to track, by block and by situation

Track the library the way you would track subject lines: per block, per segment, on your own sends. Reply quality matters more than reply count, because a message that pulls polite brush-offs is still failing.

Profile quality sits underneath all of it, because the reader checks it before replying. Our LinkedIn profile guide covers the part of the message you are not writing.

The skeleton every block here uses

If you only keep one thing from this page, keep the order. Reason, relevance, one ask, an easy exit. The template below is that order with nothing else in it.

Hi {{firstName}},

{{observation}}. That is why I am writing today.

{{role}} teams in {{industry}} usually hit {{problem}} at that point, because {{reason}}.

{{ask}} A "no thanks" is a fine answer.

{{senderName}}

Frequently asked questions