LinkedIn message templates

LinkedIn does have a template feature. It is just locked inside Recruiter and Sales Navigator, which is why almost everyone else ends up with a scratch document open in a second tab. Below are nine templates worth keeping, the character limit that quietly rewrites half of them, and what to do about the paste-from-a-doc loop.

By Rex (Kuan Hsiung Chen) · Updated 30 August 2026

Where LinkedIn gives you templates, and where it does not

This trips people up because the answer depends entirely on which product you are in. LinkedIn Recruiter and Sales Navigator both ship a saved InMail template library with basic personalisation fields. Standard LinkedIn — free or Premium — does not. There is no saved-message list in the messaging box, no snippet menu, and no way to bind a message to a shortcut.

So if you are recruiting or selling on a paid seat, use what you are already paying for. If you are job hunting, networking, asking for referrals, or doing founder outreach, you are on standard LinkedIn and the templates have to live somewhere else.

What separates a template that works from one that does not

The failure mode is not templating. It is sending a template whole. A message that could have gone to anyone reads as though it did, and people answer it accordingly.

The pattern that survives contact with real inboxes is a fixed three-part skeleton — context, reason, ask — with one or two slots you genuinely fill in from the person's profile. The skeleton is what you save. The slots are what you write each time. That split matters practically too: it is the difference between a template you can fire from a shortcut and a paragraph you have to reread and edit before every send.

Keep the ask small and specific. "Would you be open to a 15-minute call next week?" gets answered. "Would love to connect and explore synergies" does not.

Connection requests (under 300 characters)

1. After meeting at an event

Hi [Name] — we spoke at [event] about [the thing you actually discussed]. I enjoyed the conversation and would like to stay in touch. [One line following up on it.]

2. Cold, same field

Hi [Name] — I work on [your area] at [company] and have been following [their company's] approach to [specific thing]. Would like to connect and keep an eye on what your team ships.

3. After reading something they wrote

Hi [Name] — your post on [topic] made me rethink [specific point]. I am working on the same problem from the [your angle] side. Connecting so I do not lose track of what you write next.

4. Alumni or shared background

Hi [Name] — fellow [school / former employer]. I saw you moved into [their role] and I am heading that direction myself. Would be glad to connect.

Recruiter and job-search outreach

5. To a recruiter about a specific role

Hi [Name], I saw the [role] opening at [company]. I have spent [N] years on [the closest matching thing you have actually done], most recently [one concrete result]. I have applied through the site — happy to send anything that would help, or to answer questions here if that is quicker.

6. Replying to a recruiter when you are not looking

Hi [Name], thanks for reaching out. I am not looking to move right now, but the role sounds like a good one and I would rather say so than go quiet. If it is useful I am happy to pass it to people in my network who might fit. Worth staying in touch either way.

7. Asking a second-degree contact for a referral

Hi [Name], I am applying for [role] at [company] and saw you work on [their team]. No expectation at all — but if you think the fit is there, would you be open to referring me? Happy to send a short summary you could forward, so it costs you a minute rather than an hour.

Follow-ups

8. The one follow-up worth sending

Hi [Name], following up on my note about [topic]. If the timing is wrong, no problem at all — just let me know and I will stop. If it is worth a look, [restate the small, specific ask].

Send one. Send it about a week later. Give an explicit way to say no, because an answered "not now" is worth more than a third unanswered message.

9. After a call

Hi [Name], thanks for the time today. To summarise: [the two things you agreed]. I will [your next step] by [date]. Anything I have got wrong, tell me and I will correct it.

The part everyone gets stuck on: actually sending them

Nine templates in a document is not nine templates you use. The loop is: switch tab, scan the doc, find the right one, copy, switch back, paste, then hunt through the pasted text for the brackets you need to replace. It costs a minute each time and — more to the point — it is annoying enough that after a week you stop and go back to writing every message from scratch.

There are three ways out.

• A paid seat. If you are already in Recruiter or Sales Navigator, its InMail templates are right there. This is the cleanest answer for the people it applies to.
• A desktop text expander. Tools like TextExpander sit at the OS level and fire in any app. Strong choice if you also work outside the browser — see what to check before you switch either way.
• A browser text expander. LinkedIn messaging is an ordinary web text field, so a Chrome extension can open a template list at the cursor, ask for the bracketed parts, and insert the finished message without a second tab.

That last one is what Keyjot does. One keyboard shortcut opens a command window where the cursor already is; number keys 1–9 pick the template; any variable slot is prompted for before the text lands. The same nine templates then also work in Gmail, in your support console, and anywhere else you type — which matters, because outreach rarely stays on one site. It is also an AI text expander, so the messages that are genuinely one-off — the ones no template covers — can be drafted from the thread instead.

A short checklist before you send

• Is the connection-request note under 300 characters?
• Did you fill every bracket? A stray [Name] is the most expensive typo on LinkedIn.
• Is there exactly one ask, and is it small enough to say yes to in a sentence?
• Does at least one line prove you looked at their profile?
• Have you given them a clean way to decline?