Templates
Warm outbound templates, by where they came from.
Twelve templates for the ten places warm leads come from. Each has a connection note, a first message and one follow-up. They are skeletons, not mail merges: every bracket is a piece of research you still have to do.
On this page 7 sections
- The source decides what you are allowed to say.
- Profile viewers want to know who you are, not what you sell.
- Post engagers already told you the topic.
- Followers and visitors need a reason that isn't the follow or the visit.
- Borrowed orbits are interested in the problem, not in you.
- Shared history is the warmest context there is.
- A template is a starting point, and the research is the message.
The short answer
Warm outbound templates are message frameworks matched to how a prospect found you: profile viewer, post engager, website visitor, competitor engager and so on. A good one has a short connection note or none, a first message about the prospect's business with one specific detail and an easy question, and a single follow-up that adds something new.
The source decides what you are allowed to say.
Every template below follows the same rules. The signal picks who you write to and when. The message is about them. The one thing that changes by source is whether the interaction itself can be mentioned, and that depends on whether it was public.
| Source | Can you mention it? | Send within |
|---|---|---|
| Profile viewer | A light, vague nod at most. Never "thanks for viewing" | 1-3 days |
| Post liker | The topic, not the like | 2-4 days |
| Post commenter | Yes. Their comment is public words | Hours to 2 days |
| Company page follower | Lightly. Following is a deliberate act | 1-2 weeks |
| Website visitor | Never | 1-2 days |
| Competitor post engager | Never name the competitor | 2-4 days |
| Creator audience | Only a public comment, never the follow | Days, not weeks |
| Past champion, new job | Yes. Public, and you know them | Their first month |
| Event attendee | Yes. The event is shared context | Within the week |
| Newsletter subscriber | Yes. They opted in | While they're still opening |
Connection notes stay well under LinkedIn's limit of about 300 characters. "No note" is a real option, and often the better one: a blank request from someone they just noticed gets accepted on curiosity, while a note invites them to judge a pitch before they've met you.
Profile viewers want to know who you are, not what you sell.
1. Profile viewer: the straight pivot
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
2. Profile viewer: the light nod
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: the acknowledgment is one vague clause, then the message is entirely about them. "Thanks for checking out my profile" leads with the signal and underperforms.
Post engagers already told you the topic.
3. Post liker
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: a like is the weakest engagement signal. Use what it tells you, the topic, and leave the like itself out.
4. Post commenter who agreed
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
5. Post commenter who asked a question
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: a public question is the warmest thing on LinkedIn short of a demo request. Answer it fully before asking for anything, and do it within hours.
Followers and visitors need a reason that isn't the follow or the visit.
6. Company page follower
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
7. Website visitor
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: never narrate tracking. "Our tracking shows you visited our pricing page" turns interest into discomfort. Use the visit to decide to write now, then write about their moment.
A plain note on privacy. Identifying individual people from website visits is sensitive under GDPR in the EU and UK and under similar laws elsewhere. Company-level identification is the more common and more defensible version. If you sell into Europe, check with whoever owns privacy at your company before you message individuals off a site visit. This is not legal advice.
Borrowed orbits are interested in the problem, not in you.
8. Competitor post engager
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: never name the competitor or the post. They have no loyalty yet, and mentioning it starts a comparison you didn't need.
9. Creator audience (they commented on a creator's post)
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
If they only follow the creator, drop the reference and use template 8 instead. A public comment can be quoted. A follow can't.
Shared history is the warmest context there is.
10. Past champion who changed jobs
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
Why it works: the job change is public and they already trust you. Most teams never track it.
11. Event attendee
Connection note
First message
Follow-up
12. Newsletter subscriber (email)
Subject line
First message
Follow-up
A template is a starting point, and the research is the message.
Fill every bracket with something true.
If you can't find a real, specific detail about their company or their public posts, the lead isn't ready, or isn't a fit. Skip them rather than send a merge field.
Rewrite the question for their role.
A founder, a head of sales and an agency owner have different problems. Ask the one this person would enjoy answering.
Read it on your phone.
Three or four lines. If it scrolls, cut it.
Say it in your own voice.
Read it out loud. If it sounds like a template, the recipient will hear that too.
Send one follow-up, then stop.
Each follow-up adds something new. The follow-up rules cover when to send a second and when to let go.
Should I use the same warm outbound template for every lead?
Use the same structure, never the same message. The advantage of warm outbound is that it feels like a person noticed. A message that could have gone to anyone throws that away.
Should I add a note to my LinkedIn connection request?
Often not. For profile viewers and website visitors, a blank request usually works better. Add a note when you have shared public context to point at: their comment, an event, a job change.
How long should a warm outbound message be?
Short enough to read on a phone without scrolling: three or four lines, one specific detail, one question.
Next: how to follow up without bumping, or the rules behind these templates.
