This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Sending InMail
As you learned earlier in this lesson, InMail enables you to contact LinkedIn members who aren't in your network. In an effort to manage spam, LinkedIn requires members to pay to send InMail. InMail is most useful for members who want to contact a wide variety of people, such as recruiters or individuals using LinkedIn for business development.
LinkedIn premium accounts, including Job Seeker premium accounts, enable you to send a fixed number of InMail messages per month. To learn more about LinkedIn premium accounts and InMail, click the Upgrade My Account link on the bottom navigation menu. To learn more about Job Seeker premium accounts, select Job Seeker Premium from the Jobs drop-down menu on the global navigation bar.
You can also purchase individual InMails at $10 each. To do so, go to the global navigation bar, click the down arrow to the left of your name, and select Settings from the drop-down menu. Then, click the Purchase link to the right of the InMails field on the Account & Settings page. This is cost-efficient only if you want to contact just a few people by InMail.
See Lesson 1 to learn more about the OpenLink Network and premium account options. See Lesson 9, "Finding a Job," to learn more about Job Seeker premium accounts.
To determine the InMail options available for a particular member, view the contact options on that person's profile (see Figure 6.5).
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Figure 6.5 Determine the InMail options for a particular LinkedIn member.
To send InMail to a LinkedIn member, follow these steps:
- Click the Send InMail link on the profile of the person you want to reach. If you're sending paid InMail, the Compose Your Message page opens. If you're sending free InMail, the Compose Your OpenLink Message page opens (see Figure 6.6). These pages contain identical information.
Figure 6.6 Sending free InMail to members of the OpenLink Network.
- If you don't want to share your contact information with the person you want to reach, remove the check mark from the Include My Contact Information check box (selected by default). In general, it's a good idea to share contact information. To do so, enter your email address and phone number in the specified fields.
- In the Category drop-down list, select the reason for your InMail. Options include career opportunity, consulting offer, new venture, job inquiry, expertise request, business deal, reference request, or get back in touch.
- In the Subject field, enter the subject of your InMail.
- In the text box, enter your message. To increase your chances of a positive reply, be as specific as possible.
- Click the Send button to send your InMail. If the recipient doesn't respond to the InMail within seven days, the message expires.
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For more information about InMail, refer to "Understanding InMail, Introductions, and LinkedIn Messages" earlier in this lesson and also refer to Lesson 1.