When you make a connection on LinkedIn, make it personal. Talk about them – not you.
One artist shared her favorite connection request “of all time”.
“I got an invitation from someone who told me she had loved a particular magazine article, which she named, because it had such beautiful illustrations, citing three reasons why these really resonated with her. She said she had recognized my style in my logo on LinkedIn, and wanted to connect with me so she could keep up with my work.
“I was particularly proud of those illustrations and flattered that she recognized my style from my logo. That was the most pleasing invitation I ever had.”
The person sending the invitation followed the Golden Rule of making it all about the person she was seeking to connect with – from an informed standpoint.
What sixty-three per cent of LinkedIn members don’t respond to is the standard, default invitation, unedited:
That message is about as warm and inviting as a handshake from a wet fish!
Once you have sent your invitation, LinkedIn will obligingly present you with a page full of headers under the excuse of “People You May Know”. You can scroll through these forever, looking for likely people to connect with. Don’t base this simply on who you know: In fact, there may be people you know whom you choose not to connect with.
The question you should be asking yourself, when picking and choosing, is:
- “Who would I hang out with and talk to at a local networking lunch or industry conference without even noticing the time pass by?”
In other words, who would you have things in common with? Who would you easily find subjects to discuss – enthusiastically.
Those are the people you need to connect with.
