InMail is often seen as one of the best ways to put LinkedIn to work on sales activities. You get to reach out to high profile leads directly, often with high open rates and CTR.

Dear Sam: I have a LinkedIn account, and I wonder whether it is effective to send InMail messages to people I am not connected with to further my job search and build an improved network.

InMail has its fair share of haters, but it can be an effective tool when properly deployed. Notably, one study revealed LinkedIn to be 277% more effective for generating leads than its competitors.

According to LinkedIn’s best practices for writing InMail messages, you should be brief and to the point, share your goal and common associations, use a conversational and enthusiastic tone, and give ...