LinkedIn’s Reply Before Accepting an Invite to Connect
It was there, then it wasn’t, but it IS still there. Unfortunately, it’s oh-so-challenging to find it this time around.
So, yes, the reply function is still there but it’s practically hidden. In your Pending Invitations inbox (see mine below), look for the Comment icon (speech bubble to the right of the name) and hover over it with your mouse, and you’ll see the complete message they sent, the age of the message and a white “reply” arrow (without the word “reply”). Then, click on that arrow…a blank message will appear and you can send the reply without accepting the invitation.
I can’t believe how user-surly the whole process is, but at least it works – for now!
How to Respond
And since so many of my clients and workshop attendees ask, below are 3 example messages I usually send back when I have no idea who the person is, or if they didn’t bother to personalize the invite:
- Thanks for reaching out to connect, XXXX. Please let me know how I can be of any help to you in the areas of personal brand strategy development, speaking to your group/team or maximizing your LinkedIn profile. More at belladomainmedia.com and have a great day! Sandy
- Hi XXXXX, Thanks for reaching out. As LinkedIn recommends, I rarely accept invites to connect from people I don’t know, so I apologize, but can you refresh my memory if we’ve met at one of my speaking gigs or share how I might be of help to you? Thanks again, Sandy belladomainmedia.com
- Hi XXXX, thanks for reaching out. Are you interested in me as a SPEAKER at your event? If yes, please contact me with the details and I’ll be happy to consider, but if not, please do not use our new connection on LinkedIn as a way to spam with me solicitations like so many folks seem to be doing these days on LinkedIn. Thanks so much! Sandy
The last message is one I send when the person looks interesting and I’ve accepted the invite.
If they never reply to these replies then I know they were probably just spamming out invites. And you’ll notice, since these folks sent me unsolicited invites AND didn’t personalize it, I always include a link to my site, which you can do because you didn’t initiate the spammy invite (you can’t include links in LinkedIn invites). You see, once they open a dialogue (of sorts) with you, you can send back whatever you’d like — even without accepting their non-personalized invite.
BTW, in the last example, and if the person doesn’t reply, I will likely disconnect them from my Connections list.
The bottom line for me on LinkedIn? Be Nice or Leave!
And if you look interesting but didn’t personalize your message, you’ll likely get a reply with a link to this post: https://www.belladomain.com/2016/06/07/you-can-always-personalize-an-invite-to-connect-on-linkedin/
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