How to Write a Great Follow-Up Message on LinkedIn

Quick Answer

A great LinkedIn follow-up message is personalised, short, and about them — not you. Thank them for connecting, give a genuine reason you reached out (reference something specific from their profile or work), and end with one low-pressure call to action. Avoid copy-paste templates, sales pitches and walls of text — those get ignored or marked as spam. Research the person first, lead with value, and play the long game rather than pushing for an immediate sale.

LinkedIn is one of the best places to connect with professionals and grow your career or business — but only if your follow-up messages land well. Most users follow the same tired script: send a connection request, fire off a generic pitch, then keep messaging until the person responds. That can work, but it just as easily makes you look pushy or spammy and can get your account flagged. Here’s how to write follow-up messages that actually earn replies.

Start With Better Connection Requests

A common mistake is adding people, then making no effort to interact or build rapport. Strong, long-term relationships are mutually beneficial — and following up to build them dramatically increases the chance of that contact doing business with you later, and makes referrals and introductions far easier to ask for. (If you run a company page, the LinkedIn follow button is another way to keep those contacts engaged.)

The first step is simple: do your research before you message. Look through the person’s profile, read what they’ve posted, and check out their other work — blog, podcast, or company site. It’s the fastest way to find shared interests or mutual contacts, and it’s the raw material for a message that doesn’t sound generic. If your goal is business development, our guide on using LinkedIn for B2B marketing goes deeper on the strategy.

Aim for long-term prospecting rather than near-term pressure. A longer, pull-oriented approach makes you appear less desperate and tends to produce more durable conversions. Cold connections don’t know you yet and won’t trust you early — so play the long game and set goals around meetings booked, responses, and real relationships built, not just immediate sales.

Why Most Follow-Up Messages Fail

Many messages get ignored because they make one of these mistakes:

• It’s just a sales pitch. The recipient assumes it’s spam and ignores it.
• It’s an obvious template with no personalisation — the hallmark of low-effort outreach, and instantly forgettable.
• It’s too long. Busy, high-value contacts won’t read a wall of text.
• No genuine connection. Skipping research makes the message generic and easy to skip.

How to Craft a Message That Gets a Reply

LinkedIn is full of high-quality prospects, many of whom genuinely could use what you offer. Treat outreach as a chance to build your network and meet interesting people — then apply these rules before you hit send:

• Never use LinkedIn’s default message — always personalise to the specific person.
• State your reason for wanting to connect, clearly and honestly.
• Be clear and concise — if it’s confusing or long, it won’t be read.
• Make it about them: their needs, their interests, their work — not your résumé.
• Address a real pain point and offer something of value, whether that’s an insight, a resource, or a genuine question.

If you’re reaching out to hiring managers specifically, our guide to customising your LinkedIn message to recruiters covers that scenario in detail.

The Three-Part Follow-Up Formula

Before writing, decide your goal: what do you want this person to do? That decides your call to action — a question, an offer to talk, or an invitation to meet — appropriate to how much trust you’ve built. Then write the message in three parts:

1. Thank them for accepting your request.
2. Give a genuine reason for connecting — make it natural and show real interest in them.
3. Add one clear call to action that gives them a reason to respond.

Example Follow-Up Messages

Here are two templates you can adapt — personalise the specifics rather than copying them verbatim:

Notice what both do: they lead with the other person, reference something specific, and end with an easy, low-pressure question rather than a pitch. That’s the whole game.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a LinkedIn follow-up message be?
Short — a few sentences. Long messages from unknown contacts rarely get read, especially by busy, high-value people.

How long should I wait to send a follow-up?
A day or two after they accept your request is natural. Long enough to not seem automated, soon enough that the context is fresh.

Should I use a template?
Use a structure, not a copy-paste script. Templates like the two above are fine as a skeleton, but personalise the specifics to each person or it reads as spam.

What should I avoid in a follow-up message?
Hard sales pitches, generic templates, walls of text, and anything that’s all about you. These are the top reasons messages get ignored.

How many times should I follow up?
One or two thoughtful follow-ups are reasonable. Beyond that, repeated messaging feels pushy — focus on building the relationship over time instead.