# Outreach rules — <company>

Rules for anything that drafts a LinkedIn message on our behalf, human or otherwise.

## Field limits

| Field | Limit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Connection note | 300 characters | Hard LinkedIn limit. Truncated without warning. Not raised by any paid plan. |
| First message after acceptance | 600 characters (ours) | LinkedIn allows more; this is a reading limit, not a platform one. |
| InMail subject | 45 characters (ours) | Longer subjects are truncated in the notification, which is where the open decision happens. |
| InMail body | 600 characters (ours) | The first 90 characters appear in the notification. Make them the specific ones. |
| Comment | 300 characters (ours) | Longer comments are collapsed. |

Always print the character count next to a draft.

## Personalisation standard

A message qualifies as personalised only if it contains a reference that could not be true of a different person. Everything else is a template with a name merged into it, and should be labelled as such rather than described as personalised.

Grades:
- **Strong** — they said it themselves, recently, in public. Use it.
- **Weak** — inferable from their role or company. Use it only in the "pattern I keep seeing" form, never as a claim about them.
- **None** — send without a note, or do not send.

Never fabricate a reference. If the material does not support one, say so.

## Banned openers

<- "I hope this finds you well"
- "I came across your profile"
- "Quick question"
- "I'd love to connect"
- "Hope you don't mind me reaching out"
- "Congrats on the new role!" as the entire personalisation
- Any opener that would be identical for a different recipient>

## Banned throughout

<- Compliments about their career
- "We help companies like yours"
- Three-adjective product descriptions
- Calendar links in a first message
- False urgency, fake deadlines, "last attempt"
- Claiming a referral that did not happen
- Any implication of a prior conversation>

## Cadence

| Touch | Day | Channel | Job |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | <connection note or InMail> | <earn the reply with a specific observation> |
| 2 | <+5 business days> | <message> | <add information: a number, a counter-example> |
| 3 | <+10 business days> | <message> | <shrink the ask> |
| 4 | <+20 business days> | <message> | <close the loop, explicitly> |

Maximum four touches. Business days, not calendar days. Nothing on Monday morning or Friday afternoon.

## Stop rule

<Stop on: any clear no, an out-of-office followed by silence, or four touches with no reply. A prospect who stops may re-enter after six months, once, and only with a new reason — not with the same sequence.>

## Platform ceilings

See LINKEDIN-LIMITS.md. They are per account, not per campaign, and they are the reason the cadence above is four touches rather than seven.

## The test before sending

1. Would this sentence be true of someone else? Cut it.
2. Is there exactly one ask, and is it small?
3. Does the first line contain the specific thing, or an introduction?
4. Would I be comfortable if they screenshotted this?

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Linkediz LinkedIn AI Toolkit — v1.0, 18 September 2026
Source and updates: https://www.linkediz.com/ai/files/outreach
LinkedIn plan limits and prices in this file: https://www.linkediz.com/linkedin-limits