What Is LinkedIn InMail, How Does It Work and What Does LinkedIn InMail Cost
What is LinkedIn InMail and how does it work for recruiters? Learn how credits work, what it costs, and how to get strong response rates from candidates.
LinkedIn InMail is a strategic tool for reaching scarce talent directly outside your network, where short, personal messages get the highest response.
LinkedIn InMail is a paid messaging feature that lets you reach someone directly, even without being connected. To use it, you need credits from within LinkedIn Premium or Recruiter. This makes it a highly targeted channel for recruiters who want to get in touch with specific candidates quickly.
In this article, you'll learn how it works, what it costs and when it's smart to use it. You'll also see, through practical examples, how to get better responses.
- You send messages to people outside your network using InMail credits.
- You often get a credit back if someone replies.
- The response rate averages between 10 and 18 per cent.
- Short, personal messages get more replies.
What is LinkedIn InMail and when do you use it?
What is LinkedIn InMail in practice? It's a handy way to reach someone directly without first having to send a connection request. That makes it particularly suited to situations where speed matters, or when you want to approach someone in a very targeted way.
Recruiters mostly use the feature for scarce profiles or senior candidates. In those cases, you want to be able to give context straight away. That's why a full message often works better than the short introduction that comes with a connection request.
People wondering what LinkedIn InMail actually is usually want to know whether it really differs from a normal message. That difference mainly comes down to reach, structure and the use of credits.
What is LinkedIn InMail compared with a normal message?
The difference between an InMail and a normal message mainly comes down to your relationship with the recipient. You send a standard message to someone you're already connected with. A connection request, meanwhile, is often short and only meant as a first step.
LinkedIn InMail gives you considerably more room. You get a subject line and can explain straight away why you're getting in touch. This lets you respond far better to the recipient's background or interests.
While a connection request often works better with warm contacts, InMail is ideal when you don't know someone yet but still want to deliver a relevant message directly.
What is LinkedIn InMail and how do LinkedIn InMail credits work?
Anyone digging into what LinkedIn InMail is quickly ends up at the credit system. You need LinkedIn InMail credits to send messages to people outside your network.
A Recruiter Lite account usually includes around 30 Recruiter Lite InMail credits a month. With a full Recruiter seat, that number is often between 100 and 150 Recruiter seat InMail credits. These top up automatically every month.
When someone replies to your message, you often get the credit back. So it definitely pays to be targeted about it. Choose deliberately who you reach out to and write a highly relevant message. Within teams, credits are sometimes shared, so you can deploy them more flexibly for your top priorities.
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What is LinkedIn InMail in terms of cost, limits and rules?
The cost of LinkedIn InMail is built into your subscription. So you don't pay per message; you pay for access to the system, including a set number of credits.
There are also clear limits on LinkedIn InMail. The subject line is always required and can hold around 200 characters at most. The message itself can run to roughly 1,900 characters. Even so, short messages generally work better, because they're much quicker to scan.
Adding an attachment to a LinkedIn InMail is sometimes possible, but your core message really needs to be in the text itself. The first few sentences decide whether someone reads on at all.
Tracking on LinkedIn InMail remains fairly limited, by the way. You can see whether a message was sent successfully and whether you got a reply, but it's not an email marketing tool with detailed statistics.
What is LinkedIn InMail's open rate and response rate?
The average open rate for a LinkedIn InMail sits somewhere between 45 and 55 per cent. The response rate on LinkedIn InMail often ranges between 10 and 18 per cent. Keep in mind that these are benchmarks, not fixed guarantees.
Ultimately, replies matter far more than opens. Someone opening a message means little if no action follows. That's precisely why the focus should be on strong content and relevance.
The first two sentences make all the difference. If they connect well with the recipient's background, the chance of a reply rises immediately. For a bit more context, we often use up-to-date recruitment statistics to benchmark performance.
What is LinkedIn InMail and how do you write messages that get a reply?
A weak InMail is usually far too generic. There's no clear reason for reaching out, and the message stays vague. As a result, the reader switches off almost immediately.
An example of a poor message:
"Hi, I have an interesting role for you. Let me know if you're open to it."
A message like this has no context whatsoever and gives the recipient no reason at all to reply.
A strong message, by contrast, is specific and personal. You show straight away why you're reaching out to this particular person, and you ask one clear question.
An example of a good message:
"Hi Mark, I saw you have a lot of experience with supply chain optimisation in retail. For a role in Manchester, we're looking for someone who can lead exactly that process. Would you be open to a short, no-obligation ten-minute chat?"
In practice, we see that the right timing helps enormously. Ideally, send your messages in the morning on regular working days. Also, always plan a follow-up, since a single message is often not enough.
Want to speed up this process? You can have an InMail written for you based on specific profile information. This helps keep the structure and tone of your messages consistent.
When LinkedIn InMail isn't the best choice
InMail works considerably less well for broad outreach without clear segmentation. That way, you burn through credits very quickly without getting tangible results in return.
When someone is already somewhat engaged, or already knows your profile, a regular connection request often works a lot better. It feels a touch less direct, which lowers the barrier to accepting.
If you regularly work with large volumes, a structured approach helps. On our page about working with InMail at scale, we show in detail how successful teams organise this.
How we make InMails more personal and faster
Writing good InMails simply takes time, purely because you need to personalise the messages properly. That's why we always work with a fixed, efficient method within LinkedIn Recruiter. This delivers speed without costing you anything on quality.
In our InMail workflow in LinkedIn Recruiter, you can see exactly how messages are built up logically and fit seamlessly with the candidate's profile. That keeps the tone personal and relevant at all times.
In a real-world case with InMail results, we also show what this approach delivers for output and response, bottom line.
Frequently asked questions about LinkedIn InMail
What is LinkedIn InMail and who can use it?
LinkedIn InMail is a specific feature within the Premium and Recruiter subscriptions. Recruiters and sourcers use it by far the most, but sales professionals also use it regularly.
Is LinkedIn InMail free?
No, you pay for it through a subscription. Depending on that subscription, you get a fixed number of credits available each month.
How many InMail credits do you get per month?
With Recruiter Lite, you usually get around thirty credits. With a full Recruiter seat, you're often allocated between 100 and 150 credits a month.
Do you always get a credit back for a reply?
In most cases, yes, provided the candidate's reply falls within the timeframe LinkedIn sets.
Does LinkedIn InMail work without a Recruiter account?
Yes, some regular Premium accounts also let you send InMails. In that case, though, you get considerably fewer credits and have access to less advanced functionality.
Write a personal message right here
Enter a name or LinkedIn URL and get a personalised message within 30 seconds. No account needed.
Getting the most out of your InMail strategy?
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