How to send LinkedIn messages by hand with Rainmaker

With LinkedIn automation on and an account connected, Rainmaker sends approved LinkedIn notes for you. When it is off, or an account can't send, the notes wait in a queue for you to send yourself. Rainmaker can't see what you do on LinkedIn, so you tell it: Mark sent when you have sent a note, Mark accepted when the person accepts your connection request.

1. Open the LinkedIn queue

In the sidebar, click Review, then the LinkedIn tab next to Approvals. The tab shows when LinkedIn automation is off, when no LinkedIn account can send, or when a note is waiting on you. The counters at the top show how many notes are Ready to send, Reported sent, and the Replies and Meetings you have recorded.

Each row is one note, with the prospect, the campaign, the Step (Connection request, First message or Message 1, Message 2 and so on) and its Status: Draft, Ready to send once it is approved, or Sent. Use the search box and the status and campaign menus to narrow the list.

Enlarge

2. Copy the note and send it on LinkedIn

On a Ready to send row, click the copy icon (Copy LinkedIn note). You see LinkedIn note copied. Click the open icon (Open LinkedIn profile) to go to the person's profile, then paste the note into your connection request or message and send it.

Enlarge

3. Click Mark sent

Back in Rainmaker, click Mark sent on the same row. You see LinkedIn note marked sent. and the row's status changes to Sent, with today's date.

Two rules apply:

• A follow-up waits for acceptance. A follow-up message can only be marked sent once its connection request has been marked accepted. Otherwise you see Follow-up messages can only be marked sent after the person accepts your connection request. Mark the connection note accepted first.
• There is a daily limit. Across the workspace, up to 25 LinkedIn notes a day can be marked sent by default (the day runs from midnight UTC). Past that you see Today's LinkedIn limit has been reached. Send the rest tomorrow.

Enlarge

4. Mark the connection request accepted

When the person accepts your request on LinkedIn, find their connection request marked Sent and click Mark accepted, then Confirm accepted. Click Cancel if you clicked the wrong row.

Rainmaker does not detect acceptance on its own, so this step matters: the follow-up messages are timed from the day you mark the request accepted. A lead from your own LinkedIn network starts with a First message instead, which needs no acceptance.

Enlarge

5. Record what happened

You see LinkedIn note marked accepted. and the row shows Accepted with the date. Under each sent note, click what happened next: connected, replied, referred, meeting or declined. Rainmaker counts these in the Replies and Meetings counters and learns from them for later drafts.

To answer someone who replied on LinkedIn, click the message icon on their row: it opens their details, where you can draft a reply. See handle replies and book meetings.

Enlarge

To let Rainmaker send LinkedIn notes for you instead, see connect your mailbox and LinkedIn account.