LinkedIn InMail vs Connection Requests vs Open Profile Messaging: Which Gets Replies?

LinkedIn gives you six distinct messaging channels. Most outreach programs use one or two. Running all six in a coordinated sequence reaches more of your ICP, uses each channel for what it does well, and gives you more data on what is actually working.

This post breaks down each channel: what it is, who it reaches, what it costs, and when it performs. The goal is to help you decide which channels belong in your outreach program and in what order.

The Six Channels at a Glance

Each LinkedIn messaging channel reaches a different slice of your ICP under different conditions. Here is a summary before we go deeper into each one.

Note: Credit costs for InMail vary by Sales Navigator plan. Open Profile messaging is free because the recipient has opted in to receiving messages from non-connections.

Connection Requests and Follow-Up Messages

The standard LinkedIn outreach sequence: send a connection request, wait for acceptance, then send a direct message. It is the most common approach because it is free, scalable within platform limits, and builds an actual network connection that persists.

The weakness is the acceptance step. If a prospect does not accept the request, the outreach stops there unless you switch to another channel. Acceptance rates vary widely by ICP: senior executives at large companies accept less than 20% of requests from strangers; directors and managers at growth-stage companies often accept 30% to 50%.

Connection request message vs no message: LinkedIn allows a short note with a connection request (up to 300 characters). Adding a note that references a specific reason for connecting increases acceptance rates modestly, typically by 5 to 10 percentage points, but only if the note is genuinely specific. Generic notes ("I'd love to connect") perform at or below blank requests.

After acceptance, the follow-up message does not need to be long. The connection already established some rapport. A focused, single-problem message of 50 to 80 words consistently outperforms longer messages in this channel, consistent with what we see in cold email copy length data.

InMail

InMail lets you message anyone on LinkedIn without a prior connection, as long as they have a LinkedIn account. It bypasses the connection request step entirely. This is its primary advantage: direct access to prospects who might never accept a connection request.

InMail messages cost credits, which are included in Sales Navigator and LinkedIn Premium plans. Sales Navigator Business includes 50 InMail credits per month. Unused credits roll over up to 150 total. If a recipient responds to your InMail (any response, including a decline), the credit is refunded.

The response rate on InMail varies significantly by targeting quality and message relevance. Well-targeted campaigns to senior professionals typically see response rates of 10% to 20%. Poorly targeted or generic InMail performs at 3% to 5%, which is worse than a connection request sequence and more expensive.

InMail is best reserved for prospects who are unlikely to accept a connection request (C-suite, VP level at enterprise companies) or where the ICP is small enough that you can afford the per-message cost. For broad ICP outreach, connection requests are more economical.

Open Profile Messaging

Open Profile is a LinkedIn Premium feature that lets members opt in to receiving messages from non-connections for free. If a prospect has Open Profile enabled, you can message them directly at no InMail credit cost, even without a connection.

This makes Open Profile messaging one of the most underused channels in LinkedIn outreach. The prospect has effectively opted in to receiving outreach. The message lands in their primary inbox (not the connection request queue), and you pay nothing per send.

The limitation is volume. Not every prospect in your ICP will have Open Profile enabled. Typical rates vary by industry: technology and consulting professionals enable it more often than manufacturing or healthcare buyers. In most ICPs, Open Profile covers 15% to 30% of total reachable contacts. Running this channel in parallel with connection requests significantly expands your effective reach.

Group Messaging

LinkedIn allows you to message members of groups you share, without a connection request, as long as you are both members of the same group. This is a niche channel but useful for specific ICPs with clear industry communities.

The operational approach: identify LinkedIn Groups where your ICP is active (industry associations, role-specific communities, regional business groups), join the relevant groups, and message group members directly. The message arrives via LinkedIn's messaging system and references the shared group, which provides a natural context for the outreach.

Group messaging works best for tight, niche ICPs where there are obvious shared communities. For broad ICPs, it is a secondary channel rather than a primary one. The value is bypassing the connection request step for group members who might not accept a cold request.

Open to Work Messaging

LinkedIn members who have the Open to Work frame on their profile are signaling they are actively seeking new roles. This channel is primarily relevant for staffing and recruiting firms, career coaching offers, and any service that is specifically relevant to professionals in transition.

For outreach programs outside of staffing and recruiting, Open to Work messaging is generally not relevant, since the ICP is defined by people actively looking for jobs rather than by company role, vertical, or buying authority. If your ICP includes this segment specifically, it is a high-receptivity channel because the recipient is already in an outbound mindset.

Current Connection Messaging

Your existing LinkedIn connections are the warmest possible LinkedIn outreach target. They already know who you are, have accepted a connection at some point, and can be messaged for free without any of the friction of cold channels.

Current connection outreach is typically used for re-engagement (reconnecting with connections who went cold), upsell and cross-sell (clients or former clients in adjacent businesses), and referral outreach (asking connections for introductions to specific targets).

The practical limit is that most people do not have hundreds of warm, relevant connections in their exact ICP. This channel is high-conversion but low-volume by nature. It should be a consistent practice rather than a one-time campaign.

How to Sequence the Channels

Running all six channels as a coordinated sequence reaches more of your ICP than any single channel and creates multiple touchpoints across a single prospect's LinkedIn experience.

A practical sequence for a cold ICP:

• Day 1: Auto follow (builds profile familiarity before direct outreach)
• Day 2 to 3: Auto like recent posts (reinforces familiarity, visible in activity feed)
• Day 4: Connection request (with specific note if note adds value for this ICP)
• Day 5 to 6 (if accepted): Direct message follow-up
• Day 7 (if not accepted): Open Profile message if available, InMail if not
• Day 10: Group message if shared group exists
• Ongoing: Current connection re-engagement runs as a separate sequence for warm contacts

The key is that each channel is doing a specific job. Connection requests build the relationship. InMail and Open Profile messaging reach people who bypass the connection request. Group messaging reaches niche communities. Auto follows and likes establish presence before any message is sent. Running them in isolation loses the compounding effect of multiple touchpoints.