linkedin-outreach

---
name: linkedin-outreach
description: Signal-led LinkedIn notes, first messages, InMails and follow-ups that get replies; use for all LinkedIn outreach.
---

# Get LinkedIn connection requests answered, not just accepted

Per person: note or blank, giving first message, variant, one follow-up, written for the reply.

## Claude does

1. Inputs: {SENDER} (first name, assistant yes/no), {PREMIUM}, profiles, invites plus pending this week and acceptance so far, {GIVES} (genuine offers), who also gets email.
2. Volume guard (Rules) first; under 20% acceptance, segment by industry before writing.
3. One observed public signal each (post, job change, funding, hiring); reject any fitting 100 people or working without the company name; none: "needs context".
4. Stage: unengaged, comment on their posts two weeks first; engaged, invite now; connected, skip to message one (12.2% against 7.9% reply).
5. Note only when genuinely specific: notes barely move acceptance (about 26% either way) but roughly double replies; otherwise blank.
6. Pick the give tied to the signal and one reaction-inviting question, never a commitment.
7. Rotate openers (signal curiosity, market observation, buyer-world, mutual context); no two notes share one.
8. Write {TARGETS}: name, headline, stage, note yes/blank/skip, signal, opener (pattern and angle), give, question, emoji yes/no.

## Then Codex does

Codex turns {TARGETS} into a file per person plus a counted index; only fitting and counting remain.

```
codex exec --sandbox danger-full-access --skip-git-repo-check -C "<working folder>" - < CODEX.md
```

Fill {SENDER}, {PREMIUM}, {TARGETS} into CODEX.md first; read every output before the user does.

## Claude checks

1. Recount by code: notes 200 characters max (300 with {PREMIUM}), unpadded; message one under 400; sentences under 30 words.
2. Strip the company name from each note; still reads fine, reject.
3. Nothing banned in Rules, no unfilled brackets, one real question per message, reacting to the give.
4. No two notes share an opener or first line; every fact traces to {TARGETS}; follow-up adds something new; sign-off matches {SENDER}.

On failure: quote it to Codex, rerun that person, recheck all four.

## Rules

- Public information only; never invent a hook, fact, metric, date or example.
- No pitch, "I build", "I run", link or call ask before they reply; sell in message two or three; one follow-up a week later if new, then silence.
- Banned: repeated notes, generic openers, merge tags, "I came across your profile", "love your work", "impressive", "thought leader", verb first words, em dashes, exclamation marks, AI vocabulary.
- No emojis in notes; at most one per message, if they use them.
- Sign off first name only; an assistant says so.
- Under 40 invites a day, 100 a week including pending, nothing auto-sent, no bursts or pods (LinkedIn UA 8.2); under 20% acceptance, stop.
- Judge by replies, not accepts, against your industry's benchmark.
- Never the email's signal or framing on LinkedIn.
- Name the topic, never where or with which tool you saw it.

## If Codex is not installed

Claude does that section itself and says so.

## Built from

- alirezarezvani/claude-skills, linkedin-engagement: https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/blob/main/marketing/linkedin/skills/linkedin-engagement/SKILL.md (25,542 stars, api.github.com)
- xx254/linkedin_skills, draft-outreach: https://github.com/xx254/linkedin_skills/blob/main/draft-outreach/SKILL.md (16 stars)
- julienamorgan/signal-prospecting-kit, outreach: https://github.com/julienamorgan/signal-prospecting-kit/blob/main/skills/outreach/SKILL.md (10 stars)
- Belkins, Outreach Benchmarks 2026: https://belkins.io/blog/linkedin-outreach-study (14,077 contacts)
- Expandi, Connection Message Templates: https://expandi.io/blog/linkedin-connection-message-templates/ (20M+ requests)
- LinkedIn Talent Blog, InMail response rates: https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/these-inmails-get-best-response-rates (first-party data)

# Get LinkedIn connection requests answered, not just accepted - Codex task

## You are given

- {SENDER}: first name to sign with; whether an assistant sends.
- {PREMIUM}: yes or no; note cap 200 characters, 300 if yes.
- {TARGETS}: per person: name, headline, stage (engage first, invite now, already connected), note (yes/blank/skip), signal (one observed fact), opener (pattern and angle), give, question, emoji yes/no.

Use only these blocks: no research, no added context, no invented fact, metric, date or example. No signal: write only "needs context".

## Produce

Folder `outreach/`: one file per person, `outreach/<firstname-lastname>.md`, plus `outreach/INDEX.md`.

Each file:

1. **Send when**: "after two weeks of commenting on their posts", "now; message one after acceptance and a pause", or "connected: message one now".
2. **Connection note** (note yes only): one or two sentences on the signal in the assigned opener, ending on a question or implied curiosity, never a call to action, well under the cap. If blank: "Send the request with no note."
3. **Message one**, under 400 characters: opens on the signal, gives the give, ends with the one question and nothing else.
4. **Variant**: message one from another angle on the same give and signal.
5. **Follow-up**, labelled "send once, 7 days later, then stop": opens with something new about the give. Never "just bumping this".

Print each note's and message's character count, counted with code.

INDEX.md: one row per person (file, stage, note yes/blank/skip, opener, note's first three words, character counts for note, message one, follow-up), then a batch check naming any two notes sharing an opener or first three words.

## Rules

- Sentences under 30 words; one question per message at most, with a question mark; conversational, peer to peer, no salutation or sign-off padding.
- Never start with a verb. Never "I came across your profile", "love your work", "impressive" or "thought leader".
- No em dashes, exclamation marks, hedging or AI vocabulary (leverage, seamless, unlock, delve).
- No pitch, "I help", "I build", "I run", call ask or link in the note or message one: "Curious if this matches what you're seeing?" passes, "Open to a 15-minute call?" fails.
- Never say how they were found or name a platform or tool.
- No emojis in the note; at most one in a message, only when emoji is yes.
- Sign off with the {SENDER} first name, no title or company; an assistant signs "<Name>'s assistant".
- No two notes share a first line or opener. No third message.

## Return

Print people processed, files written, folder path, any note that could not fit the cap without losing its signal, any batch clash, then `outreach/INDEX.md` in full.