How To Write LinkedIn Outreach Messages That Don't Feel Spammy

Let’s be honest: Most LinkedIn outreach messages suck.

They feel robotic, written by ChatGPT, self-centered, and painfully obvious in their intent to sell you something.

You’ve probably gotten a few just this week:

“Hi [Your Name], I help businesses like yours 10x revenue with my proven system…”

Delete. Block.

Now, imagine the opposite.

A message that makes you stop scrolling. 

One that feels like it was written just for you. It’s short, it’s genuine, and surprisingly, it actually makes you want to reply.

That’s the art of non-spammy, high-converting LinkedIn outreach.

The question is, how do you accomplish this? It's not as hard as it may seem.

This article will share some easy, practical steps to take in order to write LinkedIn outreach messages that don't feel like spam.

A brief history of sales personalization

Go back 10 years to 2015. 

People were excited that you reached out to them with an email. They would apologize for not getting back to you when you sent a follow-up.

Fast forward to 2019, where everybody is familiar with bulk outreach and cold email automation; they would be happy if you added a customized first line (even if it was halfway done), people would get excited.

Around the same time, LinkedIn automation tools were in their infancy, and you could get connection requests all day long; There were no limits to how much you could send, and people were just excited to connect with you.

LinkedIn automation was unfamiliar to many people in the same way that cold email was to people in 2015.

Here we are today, where everybody knows personalization, and yet it's begun to get watered down if you aren't doing it correctly.

Yes, in 2019, you could have just sent a message with a customized intro to double your reply rate.

But now it's less about showing someone that you have done your research and more about tailoring the entire message to be as relevant to the recipient as possible.

And the sales teams that are winning these days are able to stay true to what's important in sales outreach, which is:

• The right person
• The right message
• And the right time

So, utilizing AI is going to be helpful to do those 3 things, but you need to be a little bit savvier than your competition because recipients are now saying things like: “I'm interested, but prove to me that you're not a bot.”

You have to pass the bot filter these days.

It's important to do two things better than before in the years passed.

First, you have to really dig for the nuggets that are worth mentioning in your personalization, and second, you have to talk about it in a very natural way.

For example, ChatGPT is famous for a two-sentence personalization structure.

It will write things like: “Kudos on {{achievement}}. Really great that you did {{achievement}}.”

And yes, it's odd that ChatGPT structures it that way, but because of this, you can start to see patterns.

People can pick up on this kind of AI generated personalization.

So who knows, perhaps in the future, personalization might have very little to do with first-line custom intros and a lot more to do with, “are they offering what I need right now?" Prospects might want you to give them a very compelling reason to say yes to your services.

You have to make sure that your messages are extremely relevant to your prospects, and that's where personalization is going to help you build a pipeline.

Does this mean that you shouldn't add a custom intro?

No.

But just don't count on that to do the heavy lifting for you.

Don't count on that to earn the reply.

You have to do everything else well with your outreach.

Below we will share how to do this, so that you don’t come across as a spammer but rather, someone who really wants to solve your prospect's pain points. 

Step 1: Have the right mindset for LinkedIn outreach

Before writing a single message, ask yourself: “How can I make this person's day better with one message?”

The problem with many salespeople is that when they write LinkedIn messages, they only think about how to pitch their product or service.

If you want to have success with LinkedIn lead generation, you have to stop thinking about selling and start thinking about helping.

What are your prospects' pain points? How can your product or service fix their concerns?

The trick is to talk about the prospect 90% of the time and only 10% about yourself, just for context.

LinkedIn isn’t your personal sales funnel.

It’s a professional social network. People are there to connect, share, and grow their careers. They aren't there to be sold to by strangers.

That means outreach has to feel like networking, not advertising.

Instead of thinking:

“How can I pitch my product in 3 sentences?”

Try:

“How can I start a valuable conversation that leads to trust?”

The shift seems small, but it changes everything about the tone and content of your message.

Step 2: Build a Refined Prospect List of Your Ideal Target Audience

Once your mind shift has changed, it's really important to build a super refined list of prospects.

Even the best message will flop if it's sent to the wrong person.

This is why doing a deep dive into your current buying customers is imperative.

If you can find common patterns between your current buyers, it will be easier to build look a like lists to go after.

Ask yourself:

• Which industries are my current buyers in?
• What are the sizes of these companies?
• What job title actually needs what I offer?
• What are their shared pain points?

You can also use various lead generation tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Apollo, and Crunchbase to refine your prospecting list.

These tools have different filters to refine your lists. For example, with Crunchbase, you can filter your list by:

• Company
• Signals
• Keywords
• Financials (Like recently funded)
• Events

Once your list is 90% refined, you can then add it into LinkedIn Sales Navigator and search for the right decision makers to message.

Just be sure to filter your list by recently posed on LinkedIn and also by your second degree network. The reason we suggest this is that if someone has used LinkedIn within the past month, it shows that they are active on the platform. This means that they will see your message.

Also, if they are in your second degree network, they will be more willing to reply to your message.

Step 3: Use Personalization Based on Research

Forget “Hi {FirstName}, I see you work at {Company}.” That’s not personalization, it’s automation with a name tag.

Instead, SalesBread recommends a simple framework for writing personalized LinkedIn messages.

Just think, CCQ.

CCQ stands for:

• Compliment
• Commonality
• Question

You will have to research each person on your list and find something specific to mention about them in your message.

Look for either a compliment, commonality, or ask them a question.

Let's break it down below:

Compliment

Find something you can use to compliment the prospect on.

Take a look at their LinkedIn profile or Google their name. (Yes, this does take time, but this kind of personalization leads to higher positive reply rates.)

Maybe they wrote a post that resonated. Or led an impressive initiative. Perhaps they were interviewed in a podcast, and you found something interesting.

Keep it specific.

“Hey Sarah, I loved your recent blog post on how GABA helps with ADHD, would love to connect.”

Commonality

This means that you would point out something you both have in common. It creates immediate rapport. This could be either a common connection or perhaps you are both in the same LinkedIn group.

Here's an example:

“Hey {{name}}, I’m also in the B2B SaaS space, and we’ve faced similar hiring challenges lately. Would like to connect and pick your brain on {{pain point}}”

Question

Lastly, you could also ask a question that invites a response, not a pitch.

“Hi {{name}}, I'm curious, how have you approached onboarding remotely? Has it been smooth?”

See the difference? This doesn’t feel like spam. It feels like a real person reaching out to have a conversation.

When you use this approach, you get your foot in the door to further the conversation.

Step 4: Make your outreach messages about them (not about you)

One of the fastest ways to lose a prospect's interest is to make the message all about you.

Most LinkedIn outreach fails because it starts with “I” or “we”. For example, “I help companies…”, “We specialize in…”, instead of focusing on the prospect’s pain points.

Instead, change the perspective:

• Mention something specific from their profile, company, or recent activity.
• Speak about a pain point they are facing based on the research you have done.
• Make sure your outreach message is relevant to them.

When the reader sees that your message isn't just a sales pitch and that you are actually interested in their goals and pain points, they will be more likely to respond.

Step 5: Keep your sales outreach messages short

Remember, people are busy. They don't have the time to read long sales outreach messages on LinkedIn. If they see a wall of text, they will most probably ignore it, thinking it's spam or a sales pitch.

Rather, keep your personalized messages short and to the point.

This means no more than 2 - 3 sentences.

Step 6: Follow Up Without Being a Nuisance

Have you ever had a sales rep message you over and over, without offering anything useful or relevant in any of those follow-ups?

If you send a follow-up every single day, you're going to be viewed as a spammer.

Pace your messages. Wait 3 days before sending a follow-up, or use the Fibonacci sequence.

Remember to offer something of value in each follow-up message that you send.

Here's an example:

“{{Name}}Thanks for connecting. By the way, I saw that {{Company}} has been hiring more SDRs. That's always a good sign. A few teams we’ve spoken with in a similar spot mentioned they were trying to cut ramp time without overwhelming managers. Curious if that’s something you're thinking about too?”

Step 7: Always use a low commitment CTA

No one wants to commit to a long demo or sit through a two-hour webinar. When it comes to your call to action, keep it simple and low-pressure. Make it easy for the prospect to say yes.

Instead of asking for a big time investment, try something like:

“Would you be open to a quick 10-minute chat?”
Or
“Feel free to share your calendar link if that’s easier.”

The key is keeping the next step light and easy to act on.

Here are some example CTA's you can use to help you get more replies:

• Would it make sense to chat for 10 minutes sometime next week?
• Open to a quick conversation to see if this is even relevant?
• Mind if I send over a short overview?
• No rush. Let me know if I check back in a few weeks.
• Happy to share a quick idea. Worth a look?

Cold Message mistakes to avoid

Don't use AI to do all the writing for you

Some sales reps use AI to write the same generic copy-and-paste template for all their LinkedIn messages.

Don't do this. It lacks personalization, and some prospects might view these messages as spammy.

If you do use AI, whether it's for writing or research, make sure that the message makes sense and that the personalization is correct and accurate. It's important to have a human double check the messaging to ensure it's correct.

Don't oversell in your messages

The quickest way to get ignored on LinkedIn is to sell in your cold outreach messages.

In early outreach, your job isn’t to sell your product or service, but rather to start a conversation. Jumping into technical details too soon can overwhelm your prospect, especially if they’re still trying to understand why this matters to them.

Instead, focus on fixing their pain points.

For example:

Instead of: “Our tool uses advanced automation to schedule multichannel outreach…”

Try: “Teams like yours use this to book more meetings with fewer manual tasks.”

The product features can come later, after you’ve earned the right to have a deeper conversation.

Leading with value makes you approachable. Leading with features makes you sound like every other sales pitch they’re trying to ignore.

Don't just use InMail

Using InMail alone for LinkedIn outreach isn't your best strategy, and here’s why:

Lower Response Rates

InMail messages often feel like cold, impersonal ads. Many prospects skip or ignore them, especially if they aren’t connected to you yet. Direct messages to first-degree or even second-degree connections tend to feel more natural and personal, leading to better engagement.

Limited Reach

InMail requires a LinkedIn premium account and has a limited number of credits. This means you can only send a few InMails per month. When you reach out to prospects first by a connection request, and then a follow up, you could easily send between 25-50 connections per week safely.

Looks Like a Sales Pitch

Let's face it, sometimes InMails can look like a sales pitch, and many unfortunately are. 

Why? Because many marketers misuse InMail, people often assume it’s a hard pitch, even if your message is thoughtful. That makes it harder to stand out.

The better approach is to use InMail sparingly. Rather, as a means to supplement your lead generation efforts. 

It's important to focus on building genuine connections, lead with value, personalize your outreach, and follow up with thoughtful, human messaging once connected.

Don’t forget relevancy

As we mentioned at the start of the article, times have changed. Always make sure that your message is relevant to your prospect. Relevance is going to make you stand out from your competitors. 

Ready to give it a go?

Try the above method next time you send a LinkedIn outreach message. These tips will ensure that your messages come across as genuine and not spammy.

Remember to use personalization and offer something of value to your prospects.