“Will you marry me?”

It seems like really rude on the first date if you are asked this question, isn’t it? Same like when you’re ready to reach out to a stranger on LinkedIn, the first impression surely is something very important. Building a relationship cannot be underestimated, and today we wanted to focus on that very first impression on LinkedIn – the connection request. This is the first touchpoint that sets the tone and opens the door for a business relationship.

A personalized LinkedIn connection request gives your potential connection a good reason to click the Accept instead of Ignore button in response to your request. If someone clicks Ignore, they will also have the option to select “I don’t know this person.”

So, in this article, we will bring to you some useful tips to write a personalized LinkedIn connection request.

1. Don’t use “I saw you viewed my profile” excuse

While it is a great idea to regularly check the Who’s viewed your profile page on LinkedIn, don’t use “I saw you viewed my profile” line as an excuse for contacting your new connections.

A person may have many reasons for viewing your profile. Rather than addressing why they viewed your profile, focus on telling them why you would like to connect with them.

There is great benefit to connecting with individuals who have already shown some interest in your profile. If they are someone you want to connect with, send them a personalized connection request.

2. Don’t request too much too soon in your LinkedIn connection request.

Relationships on LinkedIn are just like relationships in person. Would you shake someone’s hand at a networking event and then immediately ask them to book a meeting with you? Or would you start a dialogue with them getting to know them a little better and establishing some rapport before asking for anything?

To be a complete stranger, they don’t know anything about you. So if you want to reach out to them, please don’t be rude right in your LinkedIn connection request. The first impression is very important and your LinkedIn connection request makes that been a horrible impression if you request too much in your message.

3. Don’t write an overtly personal message

Whether or not you think you are being respectful sending this type of message, you need to think about how the other person receives it. They might not perceive the message the way you mean it.

Remember, LinkedIn is not a dating site – it is a business platform. Always keep it professional.

4. Using markers to personalize your LinkedIn connection request with Linked Booster

At Linked Booster, we give our users the ability to personalize their connection requests as much as possible despite the fact that you can let our tools run automatically.

Let’s review what markers we support our users:

{{firstName}} will be replaced by the profile’s first name.

{{lastName}} will be replaced by the profile’s last name.

{{fullName}} will be replaced by the profile’s full name.

{{position}} will be replaced by the profile’s job role.

{{company}} will be replaced by the profile’s current company name. Using our markers to personalize your note.

These are the markers that will come in handy when creating your connection requests and you can get very creative.

In conclusion, your personalized note doesn’t have to be a work of art. It doesn’t even have to be that specific to the person. It could be something simple. Remember, these are people who don’t even know who you are; they are cold prospects. LinkedIn users already have the mindset of wanting to connect with other business people… you just have to give them a decent reason to accept your connect request.

We hope you found this post useful and got some ideas for your own. If you’d like to learn more about our product to build the relationships that turn connections into clients, check out our latest LinkedIn training at our blog!