LinkedIn Connection Request Messages That Get Accepted
10 proven LinkedIn connection request message templates for sales, recruiting, and B2B outreach — with the psychology behind why each one works.
The average LinkedIn connection request acceptance rate is around 30–40%. That means most requests get ignored. The difference between a 25% and a 55% acceptance rate is almost entirely in the note — what you write, and how personal it feels. Here are 10 templates that work, and why.
The rules before the templates
LinkedIn caps connection request notes at 300 characters. These rules apply to every template below:
- One specific observation about them — not a generic opener.
- No pitch in the connection request. You're asking to connect, not to sell.
- End with something easy to say yes to — not a call, not a commitment.
- Write as if you're a person, not a company.
Template 1 — Shared industry or interest
Hi {{first_name}}, I've been following the work you're doing in [their industry] — particularly [specific thing]. Would love to connect with others thinking about this space.
Tip: Replace [specific thing] with something real — a post they wrote, a company initiative, a market trend. Vague flattery gets ignored; specificity signals you actually looked.
Template 2 — Mutual connection
Hi {{first_name}}, I noticed we're both connected to [mutual connection name]. I've been working on similar problems in [shared area] and thought it'd be worth connecting.
Tip: Mutual connections are a powerful trust signal. LinkedIn shows them prominently — use that.
Template 3 — Their content
Hi {{first_name}}, your post on [topic] last week made me think about [related angle]. Wanted to connect with people writing about this.
Tip: Referencing a specific post is the highest-performing personalisation signal we see in outreachKoi campaigns. It shows you didn't scrape them off a list.
Template 4 — Same role, different company
Hi {{first_name}}, fellow [role] here at {{company}} — always trying to connect with others in the space. Would love to be in each other's networks.
Template 5 — Recent company news
Hi {{first_name}}, saw that {{company}} just [raised funding / launched X / hit a milestone] — congrats. Would love to connect and follow along.
Template 6 — Cold outreach (no shared context)
Hi {{first_name}}, I work with [type of company] on [problem area]. Came across your profile while researching the space — would love to connect.
Tip: This is the weakest template but still outperforms a blank request. Use it only when you have no shared context to reference.
Template 7 — Recruiting
Hi {{first_name}}, I'm building out a [role] team at [company] and your background in [specific skill] stood out. Not a hard pitch — just keen to connect with talented people in this area.
Template 8 — Event or conference
Hi {{first_name}}, I saw you're speaking at / attending [event name]. I'll be there too — would be great to connect beforehand.
Template 9 — Compliment their company
Hi {{first_name}}, I've been a fan of what {{company}} is building in [space]. Would love to connect and keep up with where you're taking it.
Template 10 — No note (the control)
Sending a connection request without a note often outperforms sending one with a weak note. If you don't have something specific to say, don't say anything — a blank request is better than a generic one. outreachKoi lets you choose 'without note' as a campaign option.
Tip: In our data, well-personalized notes beat no-note by ~15 percentage points. But generic notes perform worse than no note. The bar is: be specific or say nothing.
Using these templates in outreachKoi
In outreachKoi you can paste any of these into a campaign's connection request step, or enable AI personalization — which rewrites the template per lead using their actual LinkedIn profile. The best setup is a good template as a brief for the AI rather than a static message.
- Use {{first_name}} and {{company}} as merge tags — they're filled in per lead automatically.
- Enable AI personalization to make each note feel hand-written.
- Set max chars to 290 to stay safely under LinkedIn's 300-character limit.
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