There are tons of approaches to cold outreach. But then again, considering how everyone is constantly trying to up their game, the question arises…..
What’s the best means to a good outreach strategy?
Cold emails have been more of a traditional way for cold outreach. It’s been there for so many years and is still being used widely even now.
Then, there are LinkedIn InMails, which works quite differently but has also gained a lot of popularity.
So yeah, which one should you go for? Should you fully commit to using one, or can you use both?
All these questions will be answered in this blog. I’m gonna be talking about:
- What are InMails, and why are cold emails still so relevant?
- What’s the difference between an InMail and a cold email?
- Where do InMails and emails really shine, and how can they be used efficiently?
- Are there any limitations to using InMails and Emails?
- Is automation a worthy investment?
Well, let me take you on a joyride of knowledge!
What Exactly are InMails and Emails?
InMails
You can basically send messages to people on LinkedIn without having to connect with them first.
You will be using up a credit for each InMail you send, and you will get a limited amount every month.
InMails are only available to those who have a LinkedIn Premium account.
Emails
Completely free to use, Emails are much more useful for reaching out to a vast audience. You can use it to introduce yourself, your company, or even your product/services.
Considering how it’s the best tool for mass outreach campaigns, they are still relevant and used widely.
How Exactly do InMails and Emails differ?
InMails
- InMails is completely focused on LinkedIn outreach. You can send messages to any of your prospects without even having to connect with them first, allowing you to have a more targeted approach.
- This type of outreach excels in B2B communication. You can essentially target high-value prospects in an efficient way.
- Since you have access to your prospect’s profile, you can personalize your InMail to ensure the best response rate.
- LinkedIn also gives you response rate metrics, which will help you analyze and optimize your strategies.
- However, you do get a limited number of credits (you can purchase more once you run out), so you have to use them wisely, ensuring every InMail is personalized.
Emails
- You can reach anyone through emails and broaden your audience with every outreach.
- With Emails, you can have better scalability since your outreach goes for a potentially larger audience.
- You can keep track of various metrics like open rates and delivery status, giving you ample opportunities to refine your campaigns further.
- They are completely free to use and can be used by anyone. Most people prefer to be contacted through Email, so they always leave their email addresses on every social media profile.
- Since emails have a spam folder, there’s a chance of your emails ending up there getting ignored completely. Emails, in general, also have a lower rate of response.
How to Efficiently Use InMails and Emails?
These are two completely different platforms, so using only one of them wouldn’t help you much.
InMails
Inmails truly shine as a direct and professional outreach tool (B2B interactions). They are the best way to connect with candidates (if you’re recruiting), founders, and decision-makers on LinkedIn.
With the ability to go through their profile to create a personalized and targeted outreach, you’ll have better response rates overall.
How to Effectively Use InMails?
- Research your prospect: You can gain plenty of information just by taking a look at your prospect’s profile. This will essentially help you target their pain points when you pitch out your idea or just reach out to them as an ice-breaker.
- Personalization is very important: Since you’ve already gone through their profile, you can personalize each of your messages, showing that you’re not some random bot and mean business.
- Be clear and get to the point: Nobody’s gonna read an entire paragraph, so make sure your InMails are very clear and get straight to the point rather than including unnecessary jargon.
- Include a good CTA: Anytime you end an InMail. You can create a request like scheduling a meeting, sending documents, or wanting to hear their thoughts.
- Make sure to follow up: Whenever you don’t get any response, politely follow up as this ensures your messages weren't missed or even reiterate the value of your message.
Emails
Emails truly shine in scalability and versatility. They are extremely handy in reaching out to a broader audience, in short for mass outreach strategies.
Considering how much flexibility they offer, you can use them to build relationships, share updates, or even conduct events.
How to Effectively Use Emails?
- Create a catchy subject line: Your Email’s subject is what catches your recipient’s attention, and it’s what they read first. So make sure those subject lines hook them.
- Organize your audience: You can essentially create emails based on various criteria, like industries, jobs, or titles, to deliver relevant content to the relevant audience efficiently.
- Keep it value-driven: You can add a lot more content to your emails, however make sure that the purpose of your Email and how it can benefit your recipient is written early on. Do not bombard them with random or too much information.
- Take advantage of the analytics: Keep track of your open rates and responses; this way, you can keep optimizing your outreach and make it better.
- Make use of a professional signature: Including a professional signature along with your name, designation, and contact information can help you build more credibility and make follow-ups a lot easier.
What Are the Limitations of Using InMails and Emails?
InMails
Well, firstly, it’s not free 😞. You will need to subscribe to a LinkedIn premium plan, and based on which you choose, you will get a certain number of credits.
- Premium Career: 5 credits per month.
- Premium Business: 15 credits per month.
- Sales Navigator: 50 credits per month.
- Recruiter Lite: 30 credits per month.
That’s not all; let’s assume that you have a LinkedIn Recruiter Lite plan. You will have 30 credits per month.
These credits keep refreshing every 90 days, so if you use 15 credits in the first month, the remaining 15 are added to the next month. You will have 45 credits for the second month.
If you still have some credits left and the 90-day period is over, you lose those credits. You start all over again with 30 credits. So make sure you always use all of your credits.
If you send an InMail and get a reply (regardless of whether it is positive or negative), those credits will be returned to you.
Most LinkedIn Premium owners (profiles that have the golden badge) have their profiles set as open profiles. This basically means that you can view their entire profile (best used if you want to increase your visibility).
Any InMails sent to users with an open profile are completely free.
Emails
The main limitation of emails is how low their response rates are.
Since it’s so widespread, I’m pretty sure you’ve come across your fair share of spam emails.
You’re also going to be targeting a lot of people at the same time, so this gives you little to no information on your prospects, so you can’t really personalize each Email.
Unlike platforms like LinkedIn, emails lack the ability to create personal connections with your prospects.
If you’re wondering why that is necessary, well, it’s because building personal connections increases your credibility and also boosts response rates.
Can Automation Really Be a Game-Changer?
Now that you know about the uses and limitations of InMails and emails, it’s time to talk about how you can make the most of them.
Well, one of your options is to start sending bulk emails or personalizing each InMail based on your recipient.
You could also hire a team to do this for you, but just think about how expensive that can be.
This would literally be you or your team every day 😂.
What if I told you there are tools out there that can not only send InMails but emails, too?
Enter SalesRobot!
SalesRobot is a cloud-based automation tool used by individuals and small B2B sales teams.
It essentially automates all your InMails, emails, messages, and even follow-ups (where you can set custom intervals for each follow-up).
All you need to do is create a campaign on SalesRobot and add your LinkedIn Search URL.
Once that’s done, you can select the option to target premium profiles only. As I mentioned earlier, most premium profiles are open profiles, so any InMail you send will be free.
Now, you can begin crafting your InMail and emails and even add follow-up steps after that.
If you’re worried about getting flagged as a bot, SalesRobot can also warm up your account by viewing profiles, following them, and liking and commenting on posts; this way, everything is a lot more human-like.
You can also have a live scoring system that shows the response rate of your InMails or emails.
SalesRobot also has a built-in safe mode that ensures that your account isn’t flagged as spam or banned.
And yes, of course, before I forget, each of those InMails you send can be hyper-personalized thanks to SalesRobot’s AI.
The Takeaway
To sum it all up, InMail is a lot better than Emails, and it is definitely worth investing in.
You can essentially go for a more targeted approach and personalize each of those InMails based on your prospect’s profile, giving you better response rates.
Emails are more suitable when it comes to reaching out to a much larger audience, giving you the opportunity to promote large campaigns or create follow-ups that provide more details regarding the initial Email.
However, sending InMails or emails can be a very repetitive task, so it’s always better to invest in an automation tool that suits your needs.
SalesRobot offers a 14-day free trial where you can check out all the features I mentioned above. There’s no need for any phone number or credit card details.
Peace out! I’ll see you in the next one!
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