Overview
This is the biggest debate in LinkedIn outreach: should you send a blank connection request or add a note to maximize acceptance and conversions?
We’ve run extensive A/B tests, and the results are… a bit counterintuitive.
Key benefits
Data-backed guidance instead of opinions
Higher-quality conversions, not just acceptances
Clear strategy adapted to your audience and LinkedIn limits
What really affects your LinkedIn acceptance rate
Before obsessing over the invitation note, you need to understand what actually drives acceptance.
Is your LinkedIn profile optimized?
Your profile must build trust instantly.
If it’s not optimized, even the best note won’t save you.
If you haven’t already, read our article How to optimize your profile on LinkedIn?
Who sends the invitation?
The sender matters — a lot.
A C-level profile (CEO, Founder) will always outperform an SDR
People are more receptive to messages from senior profiles
Important: always match the seniority of the sender to the seniority of the target.
Sending an intern or first-year SDR to prospect a C-level almost never works.
And yes, data shows that female profiles get higher acceptance rates than equivalent male profiles. More on that later.
Who are you sending the invitation to?
Knowing your audience is critical. Ask yourself the right questions.
Are they very active on LinkedIn?
If yes:
They receive many requests
They recognize vague outreach instantly
They’re cautious because they’ve seen it all
To build trust, you must be upfront, honest, and respectful of their time.
Are they heavily prospected?
If your target gets dozens of messages every day:
You have a split second to grab attention
Vague lines like “LinkedIn recommended your profile” won’t work
Sending a blog post hoping they’ll read it won’t work either
Note: avoiding honesty because you’re afraid of being “too salesy” usually backfires.
Be clear, honest, and appreciative of their time.
Should you add a note based on your audience?
Highly active, LinkedIn-savvy audiences (Founders, CEOs, scale-ups)
In this case, you should absolutely add a personalized and direct note.
They:
Know LinkedIn is an outreach channel
Expect transparency
Distrust blank invitations from random profiles
They tend to accept:
People in the same field and hierarchy level
People who bring value through expertise or insights
Share your value as early as possible.
Less LinkedIn-aware audiences
If your audience is less active on LinkedIn:
Acceptance rates won’t vary much with or without a note
They often accept everyone believing “the bigger the network, the better”
In this case, adding a note won’t hurt — but it won’t move the needle much either.
There is no universal best practice (so test)
The only reliable approach? A/B testing.
Become the king (or queen) of A/B testing
Create a campaign
Add A/B testing to the add relationship step
Version A
Blank invitation
Version B
Personalized, direct note explaining why you’re reaching out
Important: Generic notes like “Hi, I’d love to connect” are not valid messages.
Compare results and learn.
You can also test different sender identities (CEO vs SDR).
Drum roll… let’s end the debate 🥁
At LGM, we ran a large-scale A/B test.
The test setup
We tested whether adding a message truly matters.
Audience A: No message
Audience B: Honest sales message (very transparent, direct, and built around a clear CTA)
Audience C: vague message (slightly personalized, no context, no clear CTA)
The audience
9,000 leads
Marketing Managers, Brand Directors, CMOs
Large companies only
Same personas and company segments across groups
KPIs tracked
Acceptance rate
Qualified calls booked
Important: acceptance rate is a secondary KPI.
If your goal is revenue, you should optimize for qualified calls booked, not vanity metrics.
Results
Acceptance rates
Audience A (no message): 31%
Audience B (honest message): 29%
Audience C (vague message): 32%
At first glance? Almost no difference.
Qualified calls booked
This is where it gets interesting.
Audience A: 3.77%
Audience B: 6.62%
Audience C: 5.1%
What this proves
No message = lost opportunities (seen as suspicious)
Transparency wins: +3 points for Audience B
The note acts as a filter
Only people interested in the offer accepted the invitation, engaged with follow-ups, and booked calls.
A true win-win:
You speak with people who care
They don’t waste your time
You don’t chase uninterested prospects
Bonus: other interesting stats
We tested three sender profiles:
Founder & CEO – Male
Country Manager – Male
Brand Manager – Female
Gender and seniority matter. It’s not fair — but the data doesn’t lie.Understanding LinkedIn Limits
Understanding LinkedIn limits
LinkedIn introduced major restrictions for free accounts (October 2023 changes)
Summary of changes
Free account, no note
No quota change
150–250 requests/week
Free account, with note
5–10 requests per month
200 characters max (instead of 300)
Premium / Sales Navigator / Recruiter
No quota change
Notes up to 300 characters
What should you do with a free account?
You have two options.
Option 1: Remove notes
Keep high weekly volume
Option 2: Upgrade your LinkedIn account
No more restrictions
Pro tip: with Sales Navigator, segmentation becomes extremely powerful.
And as we always say: segmentation is the key to outbound performance.
If you need some training, we have a few guides dedicated to teaching how to master segmentation with Sales Navigator. You'll see, these 99€ will be well worth it!
Final thoughts
Yes, it’s a lot to take in — and LinkedIn didn’t make it easier.
But the takeaway is clear: in most cases, a transparent, well-targeted note outperforms blank invitations.
And if you need help choosing the right setup — we’re here for you.
FAQs
Do blank invitations get more acceptances?
Do blank invitations get more acceptances?
It can generate just as many acceptances, but far fewer conversions.
What KPI should I really focus on?
What KPI should I really focus on?
Qualified calls booked, not acceptance rate.
Are free LinkedIn accounts penalized?
Are free LinkedIn accounts penalized?
Yes — heavily, when adding notes.
Should I choose LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator?
Should I choose LinkedIn Premium or Sales Navigator?
Premium is the minimum. Sales Navigator is ideal if you want serious segmentation and scale.