LinkedIn Inmail vs Email: Which One Should I Use?
Should you start conversations with LinkedIn InMails or are emails better? The answer is the almighty “It depends”.
In this article, we’ll dive into the world of LinkedIn InMail, exploring its advantages, drawbacks, and how it stacks up against traditional email.
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a networking newbie, we’ve got you covered with all the insights you need to make an informed decision.
Contents
Understanding the Basics: LinkedIn InMail vs. Email
LinkedIn, the widely recognized professional networking platform, offers multiple modes of communication for its members.
A common question often arises in professional circles: LinkedIn InMail vs email – which is more effective? To answer this question, let’s first understand these two modes.
LinkedIn InMail: A Unique Messaging Feature
LinkedIn InMail is a premium feature, available to LinkedIn Premium, Sales Navigator, and Recruiter account holders.
It enables you to directly message any LinkedIn member, regardless of your connection status with them. These InMail messages have certain distinct features.
Premium Feature with InMail Credits
Every LinkedIn Premium subscriber, whether a LinkedIn recruiter or a regular member, receives a specific number of InMail credits every month.
The number of credits varies based on the type of premium subscription, with LinkedIn Sales Navigator and Recruiter Lite accounts receiving more.
The concept of InMail credits is straightforward. Each time you send an InMail message, you spend one of your InMail credits.
Accumulating InMail credits is also quite simple – your unused credits roll over to the next month, adding to your new credits. LinkedIn’s policy allows up to 90 InMail credits to be accumulated this way.
InMail Messages: Beyond Connection Requests
Unlike regular LinkedIn messages that require a connection request to be accepted before the message can be sent, LinkedIn InMail allows you to directly contact any LinkedIn user.
This feature makes it incredibly useful for reaching out to potential customers or contacts who aren’t already part of your professional network.
Moreover, LinkedIn InMail messages have an edge over regular LinkedIn messages due to their visibility. A LinkedIn InMail message lands directly in the recipient’s LinkedIn inbox and triggers an email notification to the user, ensuring a higher chance of being seen.
Traditional Email: The Old Reliable
While LinkedIn InMail messages offer an array of premium features, traditional email outreach remains a robust tool for professionals.
Cold emails have long been a staple in communication strategies, with the flexibility to send messages to any professional, inside or outside of the LinkedIn network.
Cold email outreach allows for more personalization and comprehensive content than InMail messages, due to the lack of a character limit.
It’s an efficient method to reach out to potential customers with a full suite of marketing materials, right from attention-grabbing subject lines to detailed follow-ups.
Accessibility: Reaching Out to LinkedIn Members
While emails allow you to reach anyone with an email address, LinkedIn InMails enable you to directly message any LinkedIn member.
Even if a potential customer isn’t part of your first-degree connections, a good LinkedIn InMail can bridge that gap effectively.
Cost: InMail Credits and Email Outreach
LinkedIn InMail messages cost InMail credits. The number of InMail credits you receive per month depends on your LinkedIn subscription.
For instance, a Sales Navigator Account comes with 20 InMail credits each month. Conversely, email outreach is generally free, unless you’re using a paid email marketing tool.
Visibility: Getting into the Recipient’s Inbox
LinkedIn InMails and traditional emails differ significantly in terms of visibility. While both reach the recipient’s inbox, InMails also appear as notifications on the recipient’s LinkedIn account, and regular emails do not.
Connection: Building Relationships
LinkedIn InMail and traditional email are both effective at building connections, but they do so in different ways. A connection request on LinkedIn often precedes regular LinkedIn messages, making them more personal.
On the other hand, cold email outreach enables marketing teams to reach potential customers with detailed introduction or contact information, and follow-up emails, fostering long-term relationships.
Remember, regardless of whether you choose LinkedIn InMail or traditional email for your outreach, it’s crucial to craft your message appropriately.
For instance, using LinkedIn InMail best practices and creating attention-grabbing subject lines can significantly improve your response rate.
Finally, bear in mind that these communication channels aren’t mutually exclusive. For effective outreach, consider using both email and LinkedIn InMail as complementary tools in your outreach strategy.
Try out Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software to level up your email outreach strategy.
More Than Just a Message: Understanding LinkedIn InMail
While an InMail might seem like a regular LinkedIn message at first, it’s far from being just that. An InMail is a feature that allows LinkedIn members, especially those with premium subscriptions, to directly contact any LinkedIn user without any connection restrictions.
LinkedIn InMail: A Gateway to Your Target Audience
Unlike regular LinkedIn messages or emails, LinkedIn InMails allow you to cut through the noise and directly reach out to potential customers on the platform.
It’s especially useful for those who rely on LinkedIn for generating leads and driving sales, such as those with a Sales Navigator Account.
With LinkedIn InMails, you don’t have to wait for the recipient to accept your connection request before you can send your message.
This not only saves time but also increases your chances of getting your message across to potential customers.
InMail Credits: What They Are and How They Work
LinkedIn InMail comes with a certain number of InMail credits, depending on the subscription plan you have chosen. For instance, if you have a LinkedIn Sales Navigator subscription, you get a monthly allocation of 20 InMail credits.
InMail credits are used to send InMail messages. If you run out accumulate inmail credits, you can also purchase InMail credits separately. But remember, the unused credits from one month roll over to the next, and you can accumulate up to 90 credits.
InMail credits are replenished monthly, but if you cancel your subscription, they are no longer available. It’s important to note that pending InMail messages sent do not result in a refund of pending InMail message credits.
Making the Most of LinkedIn InMail: Best Practices
To get the most out of LinkedIn InMails, there are certain best practices that you should follow. These include crafting an attention-grabbing subject line, personalizing your message, and ensuring your message adds value to the recipient.
It’s also important to remember that InMails are most effective when they’re part of a larger strategy. For example, while they can be a great tool for cold outreach, they’re also useful for follow-ups.
Don’t just rely on LinkedIn InMail, though. Use it in conjunction with other tools, like Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software. Using these tools together can help you create a more effective and efficient outreach strategy.
The Power of Connection Requests
Although LinkedIn InMails are powerful, don’t underestimate the power of connection requests. Sending a connection request with a personalized note can be just as effective as to send an InMail.
Remember, when it comes to LinkedIn outreach, it’s not just about the number of InMail credits you have or how many InMails you can get send inmails out. It’s about building genuine connections and relationships with other LinkedIn members.
This brings us to the end of this part of our in-depth look into LinkedIn InMail. Make sure to try Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software, for a more efficient and effective email outreach strategy.
We’ve built Mailarrow with businesses like yours in mind – aiming to maximize your outreach results.
Mastering LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium feature offered by LinkedIn that provides advanced search and filter features.
It’s designed to help sales professionals, recruiters, and marketing teams identify potential leads and build relationships. For Sales Navigator users, LinkedIn InMail is an integral part of the package.
But the benefits of Sales Navigator go beyond just enabling you to send InMail messages. It allows you to use advanced search filters, get lead recommendations, and track potential customers’ activities on LinkedIn.
InMail and Sales Navigator: A Powerful Combo
If you have a Sales Navigator account, LinkedIn InMail becomes even more valuable. You’re given a higher number of InMail credits per month than premium users, and you can reach out to more LinkedIn members.
When combined with Sales Navigator’s other features, such as advanced search and lead recommendations, LinkedIn InMails can be incredibly powerful.
You can use Sales Navigator to identify potential leads, and then use InMail to reach out to them.
Getting the Most Out of Your InMail Credits
When using LinkedIn InMail, it’s essential to remember that the number of InMail credits you have is directly tied to your Sales Navigator or premium subscription.
You can, however, accumulate InMail credits from one month to the next, with a cap at 90 credits. To maximize your credits, be selective about who you send InMails to. You want to ensure that you’re reaching out to LinkedIn members who are likely to respond.
LinkedIn InMail Best Practices
While LinkedIn InMail can be a powerful tool, it’s important to remember a few best practices. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Craft an attention-grabbing subject line. The subject line is the first thing the recipient sees, so make it count.
- Personalize your message. Tailor each InMail to the recipient to show that you’ve done your homework.
- Keep it professional. Even though InMail allows for direct contact, remember that you’re in a professional network.
- Follow up. If you don’t receive a response after a week or so, send a follow-up InMail or connect on LinkedIn.
Remember to complement your LinkedIn InMail efforts with Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software.
This software can help streamline your email outreach process and increase your chances of securing more responses.
How Much Do InMails Cost on LinkedIn?
While LinkedIn InMails are a part of various premium LinkedIn accounts like LinkedIn Recruiter and Sales Navigator, you can purchase additional InMail credits if required.
As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, it costs $10 to purchase an InMail credit. Please refer to the LinkedIn Premium page for the latest pricing details.
Sponsored InMail: Reach More People
Sponsored InMail is another type of InMail that marketers and sales professionals often use. These are paid features, different from regular LinkedIn InMails, that allow companies to send promotional InMail messages to targeted LinkedIn members.
Sponsored InMail campaigns can be personalized, allowing you to deliver a unique message directly to your target audience’s LinkedIn inbox.
This strategy often yields a response rate or a higher response rate because the message appears as an InMail instead of a typical advertisement.
LinkedIn Message Ads
LinkedIn message ads, formerly known as sponsored InMail, is a way to send marketing messages directly to the recipient’s LinkedIn inbox. These ads, shown as InMail, provide a more personal touch and tend to have a high open rate.
Message ads are an effective way to reach out to potential customers and make a strong impression. They can be especially effective for special promotions or announcements, providing the message ad a personal touch to your marketing efforts.
The Art of Follow-Ups
Just like in traditional email marketing, follow-ups are critical with LinkedIn InMail as well. If the recipient doesn’t respond to your InMail within a week, it’s recommended to send a follow-up InMail. Follow-ups can remind the recipient of your sending inmails initial InMail and increase your chances of receiving a response.
The key to a good LinkedIn InMail, and any message, is balance. You want to ensure that you’re providing value, but you don’t want to bombard the recipient with messages. Be patient and remember that LinkedIn is a professional network.
In the final section of our in-depth exploration of LinkedIn InMail, we’ll discuss how LinkedIn Recruiter can enhance your InMail efforts, how to use InMail for cold outreach, and the importance of the degree of connections. Don’t forget to make the most of your email outreach with Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software!
LinkedIn Recruiter: Unlocking More Potential
LinkedIn Recruiter is a premium feature that comes with its own set of InMail credits. This LinkedIn feature is intended for recruiters to find, connect, and manage potential candidates.
It offers advanced search filters and allows recruiters to send InMail messages to LinkedIn members, even if they aren’t connected.
LinkedIn Recruiter also offers a paid feature, called ‘Recruiter Lite’ which comes with 30 InMail credits per month. Both these plans provide a significant advantage for users who rely heavily on LinkedIn for sourcing potential candidates.
Cold Outreach via InMail
InMail can also be a powerful tool for cold outreach. Unlike cold emails, which may end up in the spam folder, LinkedIn InMails land directly in the recipient’s LinkedIn inbox.
This makes InMail an effective platform for reaching out to potential customers who are not yet part of your LinkedIn network.
However, similar to cold emails, InMail messages used for cold outreach should be personalized, professional, and valuable for the recipient.
It’s essential to research the recipient and tailor the message accordingly, highlighting mutual connections or relevant shared experiences where possible.
Degrees of Connection
Degrees of connection play a vital role in your LinkedIn strategy, whether you’re using InMail or regular messages.
1st-degree connections are your direct contacts, 2nd-degree connections are connected to your 1st-degree connections, and 3rd-degree connections are linked to your 2nd-degree connections.
When sending LinkedIn InMails, you can reach out to anyone, irrespective of your connection degree.
However, when it comes to regular LinkedIn messages, you can only directly message your 1st-degree connections.
That’s a wrap on our deep-dive into LinkedIn InMail vs email, its functionality, best practices, costs, and how to use it with Sales Navigator, LinkedIn Recruiter, and in cold outreach.
We’ve explored the dynamics of using InMail effectively and have equipped you with insights to help maximize your outreach efforts.
Remember, successful networking and outreach is about creating meaningful connections and providing value.
Combine your InMail strategy with Mailarrow, our cold email outreach software, to cover all bases and boost your outreach results. Happy networking!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between LinkedIn email and InMail?
LinkedIn email refers to the messages you send to your 1st-degree connections directly from your inbox, while InMail is a premium LinkedIn feature that allows you to send messages to anyone on LinkedIn, even if they’re not a 1st-degree connection.
What is the difference between InMail and email?
InMail is a LinkedIn-specific messaging feature that allows you to message LinkedIn users who aren’t in your connections.
Emails, on the other hand, are a universal form of communication and can be sent to any email address, regardless of whether the recipient has a LinkedIn account or not.
