“Hi! I came across your profile shall we connect?”
Such a painfully cliché message.
We all know it.
And we think: surely, people don’t fall for that anymore?
That’s what I thought, too.
Until I found myself floating above Amsterdam’s Zuidas in a hot air balloon (yes, really) thinking about what makes a first impression actually stand out.
You only get one shot. So you try to make it count.
In my case… with a balloon.
But does that even work?
What does the data say?
We analyzed thousands of connection requests across 700 clients in various sectors.
And here’s what we found:
- Any kind of sales pitch gets ignored.
- As soon as you mention what you do, people drop off.
- Even using keywords from the other person’s profile can feel like a trick.
Unless you actually know the person, of course.
But let’s talk about cold invites that first step without any prior contact.
So… what does work?
Simple:
- Human tone
- Relatability
- And yes… even clichés
Think of:
- “Nice profile! Shall we connect?”
- Or even just: “Hi! I came across your profile…”
It feels safe. Familiar.
Like saying “How are you?” when you meet someone for the first time.
It’s not about the answer — it’s just part of how we interact.
One more surprising insight…
📊 Message or no message with your invite?
Across the full dataset: an exact 50/50 split.
So it really doesn’t matter.
Sometimes a message helps. Sometimes it doesn’t it depends on your audience and industry.
The key? A/B test it. Find out what works for your network.
So, what works best?
Use one of these three:
- A light, simple line
Like: “Came across your profile let’s connect!” - No message at all
Just a blank invite. Surprisingly effective. - A truly personal note
No buzzwords. No fluff. Just honest and relevant.
This works best but only when there’s a real reason to connect.
Back to that hot air balloon…
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
So try something that actually works.
Keep it human not a pitch.
