Rules of LinkedIn DMs

NO PITCH-SLAPPING

Don’t open with “here’s what we do + 30-minute call?” right away.

That includes copying your cold email (with the subject line!) into a

DM.

DON’T REUSE COLD EMAILS AS DMS

Especially not with “Subject:” still in there. It screams lazy +

automated.

NO BAIT-AND-SWITCH

No “hey, how are you?” with a hidden agenda.If they can feel you’re

hiding a pitch, they’ll ignore you. Be upfront about why you’re there

without being pushy.

DON’T SEND ESSAYS

Long, dense DMs get skimmed or skipped. You have a tiny attention

window, respect it.

DON’T ASK FOR A MEETING IN THE CONNECTION NOTE

“Any 20 minutes in the coming days to connect?” on first touch is too

much, too soon, especially inside the connection request.

AVOID NEEDY / VAGUE LINES:

“Please accept my connection request.”

“I’d love to have you in my network.”

“Let me know if I can ever be of service.”

These sound desperate or generic and don’t say why connecting

helps them