InMail templates for people reading on a phone

InMail is a worse channel than email and you should treat it accordingly: shorter, one ask, no attachments, no formatting. The winning message usually fits in the preview pane.

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Aim for under 400 characters. Most InMails are read in a notification, and anything past the third line is invisible unless the first two earned a tap.

The subject line does more work here than anywhere else. Make it the specific thing, not the role title.

Copy the one you need

1. Cold, short version

Default first touch

Subject: [The thing they built]

[Name] · saw [specific artefact]. [Six words on why it was good.]

Hiring a [Title] at [Company]. You would own [the interesting part]. [Range].

Open to 20 minutes? Happy to take a no.

2. Passive, not looking

Someone clearly settled where they are

Subject: Not a pitch

[Name], I am not going to pretend this is anything other than a recruiting message.

You are doing [current thing] at [Company]. We are solving [related, harder problem] and I would value your read on it whether or not you ever apply.

15 minutes, no process, no follow up unless you want one.

3. Follow up

Once, five days later

Subject: Re: [original]

[Name], last message from me on this.

[The thing that changed since: scope, funding, team.] Made me think of you again because [reason].

A one word no is a completely fine reply.

4. Referral ask

When they are not the fit but know who is

Subject: Wrong person, right network

[Name], you are not the fit for this and I know it. Hiring a [Title] who has [specific experience].

You have worked with people like that. One name would genuinely help, and I will tell you how it goes.

What is different about InMail

Character limits are the whole game. Write the email version first, then cut it in half twice.

No links in the first message. They lower deliverability and give people something to not click.

Do not open with your name and title. Open with the reason you found them.

InMail credits make people cautious and then generic. It is the wrong instinct. Send fewer, better messages.

Reach is not the constraint anymore.

Finding someone worth writing to, with something true to say to them, is.

That is the part I do before the message ever gets written.

What people ask about this

InMail or email?

Email when you can find the address, InMail when you cannot. Reply rates on a well researched email are consistently better, and you are not paying per attempt.

Does LinkedIn Recruiter give you better results?

It gives you reach inside one walled garden. The people who never maintain a profile are invisible to it entirely, which is the comparison on the LinkedIn Recruiter page.

Can Laidback send InMail?

I draft the message with the evidence attached and a human on your team sends it from their own account. Nothing goes to a candidate without a person approving it.