LinkedIn outreach — send connection invitations from a list

The Outreach panel helps you send LinkedIn connection invitations with a personal note, one contact after another, straight from a list. It is half-automatic: ListPlus fills in your note, copies it and opens LinkedIn's invitation page for the person — you paste the note and click Send on LinkedIn yourself.

ListPlus never touches LinkedIn: it does not log into your account, click for you or send anything in your name. LinkedIn limits and bans tools that control accounts automatically, so the sending stays with you and your account stays yours.

Open the panel#

In a list, open Tools (Werkzeuge) in the list header → Automate & connect (Automatisieren & verbinden) → Outreach.

Outreach is only offered when:

• the list has a LinkedIn profile column,
• the list is a contact list (a company list hides it — see the list kind),
• you can edit the list (it is hidden in read-only lists and in reference lists that refresh themselves from their source).

Only rows with a LinkedIn profile address (linkedin.com/in/…) can be invited; More settings in the panel shows how many contacts have none.

Write your note#

1. Under Your invitation note (Deine Einladung), write the text.
2. Insert column (Spalte einsetzen) adds a column as a placeholder in curly braces, for example the first name or the company. It is filled in for each contact.
3. Preview for … shows the note for the first contact in the queue, with the character count. No value for: … warns when that contact has an empty cell; the placeholder is then left out of the note, never sent as a placeholder.
4. Remind me later (Später daran erinnern) sets the default follow-up: No reminder or After 3 / 7 / 14 / 30 days.
5. More settings → Character limit: 200 characters (free account) or 300 characters (Premium). These are LinkedIn's limits for an invitation note; pick the one that fits your LinkedIn account.
6. Click Save template (Vorlage speichern). The template is saved with the list, so it is there next time and for colleagues working on the same list.

You can only start with a saved template, and not while the preview is over the character limit.

Choose who you invite#

Who would you like to invite? filters the table while the panel is open. Each view shows its count:

• Current view — the table as it is (your own filters and sorting).
• New contacts — never contacted from this row.
• Reminder due — the follow-up date is today or earlier.
• Upcoming reminders — contacted, follow-up date still ahead.
• 14+ days ago — the last outreach is at least 14 days old and no follow-up date is set (people who probably did not reply).
• Contact history — every row with at least one recorded outreach.

The queue is the table's rows in their current order after your filters and sorting. If you select rows, only the selected ones are invited.

People someone in your workspace already invited on LinkedIn — you or a colleague, from another row or another list — are skipped. Under More settings you can tick Include them anyway to keep them in the queue. Rows invited before from this row stay in the queue; use New contacts to leave them out.

Run through the contacts#

Click Start with … contacts. In Chrome and Edge on the desktop a small floating window opens that stays on top of LinkedIn. In browsers that cannot open one (Safari, Firefox), the same steps show inside the panel.

For each contact:

1. Check the name, job title and company. Profile opens their LinkedIn profile in a new tab if you want to look first.
2. Change the note if you like — the change is only for this contact, the template stays. You can also change Remind me later for this person.
3. Click Copy note & open LinkedIn (Text kopieren & LinkedIn öffnen). The note is copied and LinkedIn's invitation dialog opens in a new tab.
4. On LinkedIn, add a note, paste with ⌘V (Mac) or Ctrl+V (Windows) and click Send. Close the tab with ⌘W / Ctrl+W.
5. Back in ListPlus, answer Did you send the invitation?: press Enter or click Sent — next contact to record it, or Esc / Skip to move on without recording.

A new LinkedIn tab opens for every contact, so closing each one keeps your browser tidy. LinkedIn may also show its cookie banner behind the dialog; the invitation works anyway. If LinkedIn does not open, allow pop-ups for ListPlus and click Copy note & open LinkedIn again; once a tab has opened, Open LinkedIn again reopens it.

If someone was contacted before, the window says when, how, by whom ("you" or "a colleague") and in which list. This week: … invitations recorded by you at the bottom of the panel counts your own confirmed invitations since Monday. LinkedIn limits how many invitations you can send per week; the counter helps you keep track, it does not know LinkedIn's limit for your account.

End session stops the run at any time; invitations you already confirmed stay recorded.

What ListPlus records#

When you confirm Sent, the row keeps:

• the date and the channel (LinkedIn invitation),
• the note exactly as it went out (with your edits),
• the follow-up date you picked (the next confirmed outreach replaces it; No reminder clears it).

A row keeps its last 20 entries. You see them in the Record panel's Contact history (Kontaktverlauf) section, and while the Outreach panel is open, the table shows three extra columns next to the LinkedIn column: Last outreach (Letzte Ansprache: date · channel), Follow-up (Wiedervorlage) and Outreach (Ansprachen: the count). You can sort by them; they disappear again when you close the panel.

The invitation also goes into your workspace's contact history, which is what the "already invited" check uses — see contact history for that log and for columns, filters and triggers built on it.

Recording an invitation costs no credits and does not start a trigger by itself. ListPlus does not send anything — it only records what you confirm.

Limits#

• The panel is for LinkedIn connection invitations only. E-mails are not a channel of this panel; e-mail drafts from pipelines appear in the workspace's contact history.
• ListPlus cannot see whether a person accepted the invitation or replied. Use the views (Reminder due, 14+ days ago) and list statuses to keep track.
• Only what you confirm is recorded: if you click Skip after sending on LinkedIn, the invitation is not in the history.
• A follow-up date is set when you confirm an invitation; it cannot be edited separately afterwards.

Your responsibility#

You decide whom you contact and what you write. For the people in your lists you are the controller under GDPR — see Your responsibilities under GDPR. Keep notes personal and relevant to the person; LinkedIn's own user agreement applies to everything you send there.

Related topics: contact-history · columns-formulas-ai-columns · list-triggers · gdpr-your-responsibilities.

FAQ#

How do I send LinkedIn invitations from a list?#

Open the list, click Tools in the list header → Automate & connect → Outreach, write and save your invitation note, then click Start with … contacts. For each contact, Copy note & open LinkedIn copies the note and opens LinkedIn's invitation dialog; you paste it, click Send on LinkedIn and confirm with Enter in ListPlus.

Does ListPlus send the invitations or log into my LinkedIn account?#

No. ListPlus never logs into LinkedIn and never clicks or sends anything there: it only copies your note and opens LinkedIn's invitation page in a normal tab, and you click Send yourself. LinkedIn limits and bans tools that control accounts automatically, so this keeps your account safe.

Why don't I see Outreach in the Tools menu?#

Outreach appears only in a contact list that has a LinkedIn profile column and that you can edit. It is hidden in company lists, read-only lists and reference lists that refresh themselves from their source — add or detect a LinkedIn column, or switch the list kind to contacts.

How do I personalise the invitation note, and how long can it be?#

Under Your invitation note, click Insert column to add a column such as the first name or company; it is filled in for each contact. Preview for … shows the result, and No value for: … warns when a contact's cell is empty — that placeholder is then left out of the note. The character limit is LinkedIn's (200 on a free LinkedIn account, 300 on LinkedIn Premium); set yours under More settings → Character limit.

Which contacts are in the queue?#

The table's rows in their current order after your filters and sorting, or only the selected rows if you selected some — each needs a LinkedIn profile address. People already invited on LinkedIn in your workspace by you or a colleague from another row or list are skipped unless you tick Include them anyway under More settings.

What do the views New contacts, Reminder due and 14+ days ago mean?#

New contacts were never contacted from this row, Reminder due have a follow-up date of today or earlier, and Upcoming reminders have one still ahead. 14+ days ago are rows whose last outreach is at least 14 days old without a follow-up date, and Contact history shows every row with a recorded outreach.

What does ListPlus save after I click Sent?#

The row keeps the date, the channel, the note exactly as it went out and the follow-up date you picked, up to the last 20 entries. You see it in the Record panel under Contact history, and while the Outreach panel is open in the columns Last outreach, Follow-up and Outreach.

Does LinkedIn outreach cost credits or start triggers?#

No credits are charged for recording an invitation, and recording it does not start a trigger by itself. If you built contact history columns, a trigger can react to those — see the contact history article.

Does ListPlus know if someone accepted my invitation?#

No, ListPlus cannot see acceptances or replies on LinkedIn. Use the follow-up reminder and the Reminder due and 14+ days ago views to decide whom to follow up, and set a list status once you are done with a contact.

How many invitations can I send per week?#

LinkedIn decides that and limits invitations per week per account. This week: … invitations recorded by you at the bottom of the panel counts your own confirmed invitations since Monday to help you keep track.