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Why LinkedIn InMails Are Becoming the Preferred Choice for Cold Outreach in 2024
LinkedIn InMails are special DMs that you can send to LinkedIn members even if they are not your connections, available for LinkedIn premium and Sales Navigator users only.
People send InMails on LinkedIn for networking, recruiting, and prospecting.
If you’re reading this, I am sure you are aware of the ongoing craze about InMails, especially if you’re in the B2B space. People are talking about it on LinkedIn posts, articles, Twitter, YouTube: literally everywhere. Many are claiming LinkedIn InMails are the best cold outreach channel.
Now, the question: why though? Wasn’t the email the king of cold outreach?
Well, I have written this article to answer the very same question. So, let’s get on with it.
Why Marketers Prefer LinkedIn InMails for Cold Outreach?
Email has been the unrivaled outreach solution for quite some time. In the ongoing debate of email v/s LinkedIn InMails, it’s interesting that people prefer InMails. Is it bringing the best outcome?
Let’s find out.
InMails Offer 3 Times Higher Open Rates than Email
Cold email outreach is a risky game. The major worry is: will the recipient even read your message?
Marketers try hard to catch the recipient’s attention. They do all sorts of things like adding emojis, personalization to craft subject lines that increase open rates.
LinkedIn InMails, on the other hand, are famous for high open rates. According to a LinkedIn article, it provides three times higher open rates than email.
And, that’s something that SDRs have always wished for.
High open rates is one of the major reasons why marketers are preferring LinkedIn InMails for outreach.
No Spam Filter
ESPs are notorious for their strict spam filters. An email subject line with little to no sales-y words can alert the spam filters and end up ruining the entire email campaign and also the sender reputation.
Unlike emails, LinkedIn InMails don’t go through the risk of landing in spam. They reach the prospect’s inbox directly.
This is another reason why SDRs are preferring InMails for prospecting.
Targeted Outreach
LinkedIn, as a platform, boasts of 65+ million professionals who are decision makers of various businesses. It means 4 of 5 members are responsible for business decisions.
This fact alone makes LinkedIn the perfect platform for B2B outreach.
Unlike cold calls and emails, LinkedIn outreach allows marketers to launch targeted campaigns. All they need to do is use search filters on LinkedIn and find hot leads.
The ability to launch targeted campaigns make InMails a better outreach choice for SDRs.
Prospects Trust LinkedIn Profiles
Cold emails are sent to 1000s of prospects who are complete strangers to the marketer. The recipients are mostly likely unaware of their business and product. This creates a trust barrier for the prospects and makes conversion harder.
Contrastingly, a prospect receiving InMails can always click on the sender’s profile and checkout their company page. This direct conversation increases the chance of conversion.
This is another reason why marketers are preferring InMails over other outreach channels.
Recent Lead Database
Having accurate and current data is crucial for cold outreach. Sending a cold email to wrong prospects often leads to low reply rates and high spam rates.
This is where InMails shine as the preferred choice for savvy marketers in 2024. LinkedIn, in essence, functions as a dynamic and ever-evolving lead database that's continually refreshed by its active user base.
Unlike lead lists acquired from databases like Apollo, one can easily find active leads on LinkedIn, as the users regularly update and maintain their profiles.
This is why the data quality on LinkedIn remains consistently high.
As professionals switch jobs, acquire new skills, or update their contact details, LinkedIn users promptly reflect these changes on their profiles. The beauty of LinkedIn lies in its real-time data updates, making it a goldmine of up-to-date information for outreach campaigns.
This is why outreach marketers prefer LinkedIn InMails over other outreach channels.
Cold Emails still the Best Outreach Choice…Why?
Although InMails provides higher open and conversion rates, cold emails still remain the best outreach choice for the following reasons:
You can reach 1000s of prospect per day
To send InMail, you need a Core Professional account of Sales Navigator. Even with this subscription you get only 50 InMail credits, which means you can reach only 50 prospects per month.
In case of cold emails, with a software like Smartlead, you can send 1000s of emails per day without facing any deliverability issues.
Cold emailing is cost effective
A Core Professional Sales Navigator account costs you $79.99/month. It means you’re spending $1.60 per InMail. If the prospect doesn’t respond, you’re just letting $1.60 go down the drain.
Unlike InMails, all you need is a cold email tool to reach thousands of prospects every month. And cold email softwares is way more budget-friendly.
For instance, Smartlead offers a Base plan for just $33 per month. In this plan, you get to send 6000 emails a month. If you want to compare the cost with the Core Professional Sales Navigator account, you get the Custom plan in Smartlead for just $78.
Not to forget, you can send as many as 150,000 emails per month with the custom plan.
You can automate cold email campaigns
With InMails, the entire process is manual. Suppose you’re on a vacation and the prospect for whom you spent $1.60 just replied. Chances are you will miss to get back to them on time and lose a sale.
With cold emails, all you need to do is subscribe for an AI-driven software. You can create scenario-based email sequences and automate the replies.
This way you can still finish your drink relaxing at the beach and let the AI take the call on behalf of you, literally.
You can follow-up on cold emails
Research says it takes more than five follow-ups, at least, to make a sale. With InMail, you get one shot only.
If the prospect is having a bad day when your InMail reaches their inbox, you don’t get a second chance. With InMails, the worst part is there’s no “better luck next time”.
But with cold emails, you can keep following up as long as you want. You can use an AI-driven tool to automate the follow-ups, so that you can focus more on closing deals that follow-up up on a not-so-sure lead.
Final Thoughts!
If you are still thinking why is LinkedIn InMail better than email for outreach, here are the points why marketers like it so much:
- Higher open rates
- No spam filter
- Prospects trust InMails better than emails
- Recent lead database
There are definitely outreach benefits of using LinkedIn InMails, but the drawbacks are unignorable.
❌ InMails are expensive
❌ You get only 50 InMails per month by spending $79
❌ No follow-ups
❌ No automation
Outreach is most of the time shooting in the dark, even if you’re targeting hot leads because you never know who is “ready” to buy your product.
This is why emails are still the best cold outreach medium. Even though everybody is talking about InMails, cold emails still bring bigger numbers than InMails.
Author’s Details
Rajnish Das
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Frequently asked questions
What is Smartlead's cold email outreach software?
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
What is Smartlead, and how can it enhance my cold email campaigns?
Smartlead is a robust cold emailing software designed to transform cold emails into reliable revenue streams. Trusted by over 31,000 businesses, Smartlead excels in email deliverability, lead generation, cold email automation, and sales outreach. A unified master inbox streamlines communication management, while built-in email verification reduces bounce rates.
Additionally, Smartlead offers essential tools such as CNAME, SPF Checker, DMARC Checker, Email Verifier, Blacklist Check Tool, and Email Bounce Rate Calculator for optimizing email performance.
How does the "unlimited mailboxes" feature benefit me?
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
How does Smartlead as a cold emailing tool can automate the cold email process?
Smartlead’s robust cold email API and automation infrastructure streamline outbound communication by transforming the campaign creation and management processes. It seamlessly integrates data across software systems using APIs and webhooks, adjusts settings, and leverages AI for personalised content.
The cold emailing tool categorises lead intent, offers comprehensive email management with automated notifications, and integrates smoothly with CRMs like Zapier, Make, N8N, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive. Smartlead supports scalable outreach by rapidly adding mailboxes and drip-feeding leads into active campaigns Sign Up Now!
What do you mean by "unibox to handle your entire revenue cycle"?
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
How does Smartlead ensure my emails don't land in the spam folder?
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Can Smartlead help improve my email deliverability rates?
Yes, our cold emailing software is designed to significantly improve your email deliverability rates. It enhances email deliverability through AI-powered email warmups across providers, unique IP rotating for each campaign, and dynamic ESP matching.
Real-time AI learning refines strategies based on performance, optimizing deliverability without manual adjustments. Smartlead's advanced features and strategies are designed to improve email deliverability rates, making it a robust choice for enhancing cold email campaign success.
What features does Smartlead offer for cold email personalisation?
Smartlead enhances cold email personalisation through advanced AI-driven capabilities and strategic integrations. Partnered with Clay, The cold remaining software facilitates efficient lead list building, enrichment from over 50 data providers, and real-time scraping for precise targeting. Hyper-personalised cold emails crafted in Clay seamlessly integrate with Smartlead campaigns.
Moreover, Smartlead employs humanised, natural email interactions and smart replies to boost engagement and response rates. Additionally, the SmartAI Bot creates persona-specific, high-converting sales copy. Also you can create persona-specific, high-converting sales copy using SmartAI Bot. You can train the AI bot to achieve 100% categorisation accuracy, optimising engagement and conversion rates.
Can I integrate Smartlead with other tools I'm using?
Certainly, Smartlead cold email tool is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
Is Smartlead suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises?
Smartlead accommodates both small businesses and large enterprises with flexible pricing and comprehensive features. The Basic Plan at $39/month suits small businesses and solopreneurs, offering 2000 active leads and 6000 monthly emails, alongside essential tools like unlimited email warm-up and detailed analytics.
Marketers and growing businesses benefit from the Pro Plan ($94/month), with 30000 active leads and 150000 monthly emails, plus a custom CRM and active support. Lead generation agencies and large enterprises can opt for the Custom Plan ($174/month), providing up to 12 million active lead credits and 60 million emails, with advanced CRM integration and customisation options.
What type of businesses sees the most success with Smartlead?
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our cold email tool offers a multi-channel infrastructure designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
How can Smartlead integrate with my existing CRM and other tools?
Smartlead is the cold emailing tool that facilitates seamless integration with existing CRM systems and other tools through robust webhook and API infrastructure. This setup ensures real-time data synchronisation and automated processes without manual intervention. Integration platforms like Zapier, Make, and N8N enable effortless data exchange between Smartlead and various applications, supporting tasks such as lead information syncing and campaign status updates. Additionally, it offers native integrations with major CRM platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive, enhancing overall lead management capabilities and workflow efficiency. Try Now!
Do you provide me with lead sources?
No. Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanised email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
How secure is my data with Smartlead?
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
How can I get started with Smartlead?
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
How can I reach the Smartlead team?
We're here to assist you! You can easily get in touch with our dedicated support team on chat. We strive to provide a response within 24 hours to address any inquiries or concerns you may have. You can also reach out to us at support@smartlead.ai
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