- Step types, from profile visits to withdrawing an invite
- 10
- Step types, from profile visits to withdrawing an invite
- Days to wait for an invite to be accepted
- 1 to 30
- Days to wait for an invite to be accepted
- Versions per step for a fair A/B test
- 2
- Versions per step for a fair A/B test
- Starter sequences to copy and edit
- 3
- Starter sequences to copy and edit
What is a LinkedIn automation sequence?
A LinkedIn sequence is a list of steps that runs for each lead on its own. Visit their profile. Send a connection request. Wait. If they accept, send a message. Wait a few days. Follow up. Some tools call it a drip campaign. It is the same idea.
Most replies on LinkedIn come after the first message, not from it. People are busy, they see your note between meetings, and they mean to answer later. A sequence makes sure that later happens, without you keeping a spreadsheet of who got what and when.
In Personade you build the sequence once, on a simple canvas, and it runs for every lead in the campaign at a human pace, inside your working hours and daily limits. You write the words. We do the remembering.
Every step you can put in a LinkedIn sequence
A sequence is built from ten kinds of step. Some you write words for, like the invite note and the messages. The rest are one-click LinkedIn actions that make you visible before you ask for anything.
You can add a delay after any action, from 0 up to 90 hours or days, or drop in a wait step on its own (one day by default). A path can hold up to 40 steps, which is far more than any sensible sequence needs.
Messages only go to people you are connected with, because that is how LinkedIn works for normal messages. So a message step belongs after the invite has been accepted, or in a campaign aimed at your existing connections.
| Step | What it does | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| View profile | Visits their LinkedIn profile | They may see you in their profile views |
| Invite | Sends a connection request | Optional note, up to 300 characters, with a shorter backup note |
| Message | Sends a LinkedIn message | 1st-degree connections only, up to 8,000 characters |
| Follow | Follows them | Their posts show up in your feed |
| Unfollow | Stops following them | Handy at the end of a path |
| Like latest post | Likes the most recent thing they posted | A light touch before you ask for anything |
| Endorse skills | Endorses skills on their profile | Connected people only |
| Withdraw invite | Pulls back a connection request | A step you add, for invites nobody accepted |
| Wait | Pauses the sequence | One day by default |
| End | Closes the path for that lead | Every path finishes with one |
A different path for people who accept
After the invite, most sequences need to know one thing: did they accept? So Personade has one condition, "if connected". It splits the sequence into two paths, yes and not yet.
You choose how long to wait for an answer, anywhere from 1 to 30 days. The default is 3. While the invite is pending, we check again at most every 12 hours, so the lead moves to the yes path soon after they accept.
The yes path is where your messages go. The not yet path is up to you. Leave it empty and the lead simply ends there. Or add a like and a follow to stay visible, or withdraw the invite so your pending list stays tidy. Paths can nest up to 8 levels deep, but one split is usually all you need.
Yes
They accepted. Send your first message, then your follow-ups.
Not yet
No answer in the time you set. End, stay visible, or withdraw the invite.
You pick the wait
1 to 30 days to accept. We re-check pending invites at most every 12 hours.
Variables that never send "Hi ,"
Every invite note and message can use variables: {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}, {{company}}, {{position}} and {{location}}. If you upload leads from a CSV, any extra column you add becomes a variable too. That is where the real personal line goes: a post they wrote, a mutual friend, the reason you picked them.
LinkedIn names are messy. People put titles, degrees, emoji and words like "Hiring" in their name. We clean first names before they go into a message, so you write to Sarah, not to "Dr. Sarah 🚀 Hiring".
If a value is missing, we remove the variable and tidy the spacing around it. And if a message needs a name we do not have, it waits instead of going out as "Hi ,". Nothing makes automation look more obvious than an empty name.
Five built in
First name, last name, company, position and location.
Your own columns
Any custom column in a CSV upload works as a variable.
Clean first names
Titles, degrees, emoji and "Hiring" are stripped out.
A/B test your connection note or your message
Not sure which opener works better? Add a version B to any invite or message step. Each lead gets one of the two at random, 50/50, and keeps that version for the whole campaign.
Invite notes are judged on how many people accept. Messages are judged on how many people reply. That is the number each one is actually there to move.
We will not call a winner on thin data. Under 20 leads per version, or a gap under 5 points, and we say it is too early. When there is a clear winner, you pick it. It never switches on its own. The results sit in your campaign analytics.
Two versions per step
Version A and version B, split 50/50.
The right score
Notes on accepts, messages on replies.
No false winners
At least 20 leads a version and a 5-point gap.
LinkedIn drip campaign examples you can copy
You do not have to start from a blank canvas. Personade comes with three starter sequences. Pick one, change the words, and adjust the timings. Here is what each one does, step by step.
Invite and follow up is the classic. Warm up first suits cold leads who have never heard of you. Message my connections is for people you already know, like past clients or old colleagues you want to catch up with about something new.
Keep follow-ups short and give each one a new reason to answer: a useful link, a quick question, a smaller ask. Two or three messages after the first is plenty. After that, let it go.
| Starter | Steps and timing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Invite and follow up | Invite. If connected within 30 days: wait 1 hour, message, wait 3 days, message, wait 4 days, message. End. | Cold leads, the everyday campaign |
| Warm up first | View profile, wait 1 day. Like latest post, wait 1 day. Follow, wait 2 days. Invite. If connected within 14 days: message. End. | Busy or senior people who ignore strangers |
| Message my connections | Message, wait 3 days, message. End. | People you are already connected with |
Follow-up automation that knows when to stop
The worst thing a sequence can do is send "just bumping this up" to someone who already answered. So stop on reply is always on, and you cannot turn it off.
When a lead replies, we put them on hold in every campaign in your workspace, whichever LinkedIn account sent the message. From then on, it is a conversation, and it is yours. You pick it up in the unified inbox.
We spot replies by syncing your inbox, about every 15 minutes in working hours. Campaigns also skip people another campaign already contacted (on by default), can skip your existing connections, and always check your do-not-contact list.
Always on
No setting to forget. A reply ends the sequence for that person.
Every campaign
On hold across the whole workspace, not just the campaign they answered.
Edit while live
Change a running sequence and leads move by step, so nobody gets a step twice.
How to build a LinkedIn sequence in Personade
From an empty campaign to a sequence that runs on its own.
- 1
Add your leads
Pull them from a LinkedIn or Sales Navigator search, or upload a CSV. See lead sourcing.
- 2
Pick a starter or start blank
Invite and follow up, Warm up first, or Message my connections. All three can be edited.
- 3
Write your note and messages
Use variables for names and companies, and your own CSV columns for the personal line.
- 4
Set the timing
Add a delay after each step, and choose how many days to wait for an invite to be accepted.
- 5
Add a version B if you like
Test two invite notes or two messages. We tell you when there is a real winner.
- 6
Launch and answer replies
The sequence runs in your working hours. Replies stop it and land in your inbox.
What sequences do not do
So you know exactly what you are building with.
- Sequences are LinkedIn only. There are no email steps, no InMail and no open-profile messages.
- There is one condition: "if connected". There are no "if replied" or "if opened" branches, because a reply already stops the sequence.
- We do not write your messages for you. You write them, with variables for the personal parts.
- A/B tests have two versions per step. You choose the winner; it is never switched automatically.
- Replies are picked up by inbox sync, about every 15 minutes in working hours, not the second they arrive.
- Old pending invites are not withdrawn on their own. Add a withdraw invite step to the not yet path if you want that.
- Delays are the exact number you set. We add natural pacing between actions, but there is no min and max range per step.
- Sequences need a live plan to run, including the free trial.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers on how it works, how it keeps your account safe and what it costs.
Still wondering?
help@personade.comFor most campaigns, four to six steps is enough: a profile visit, an invite, then a first message and two follow-ups once they accept. More steps rarely help and start to feel like pressure. Personade allows up to 40 steps per path, but our starter sequences use between two and five actions.
Two or three follow-ups after your first message is a good ceiling. Give each one a new reason to reply, like a useful link or a simpler question, rather than just bumping the thread. If there is still no answer, stop. In Personade a reply ends the sequence at once, so nobody who answered gets another follow-up.
Three to five days between messages works for most people. It is long enough not to crowd them and short enough that they still remember you. Our Invite and follow up starter waits 3 days, then 4 days. You can set any delay from 0 to 90 hours or days after each step.
It depends on who you are writing to, which is why it is worth testing. A short, specific note can help with people who get lots of requests; a blank invite can do better with people who find notes salesy. Personade lets you A/B test a note against another note, judged on accepts. Keep it short. Notes can be up to 300 characters. If a note runs over once the names are filled in, we send the shorter backup note you wrote instead, and if that is too long too, the invite goes without a note.
Their sequence stops. We put that lead on hold in every campaign in your workspace, whichever LinkedIn account sent the message, and the reply shows up in your inbox so you can take over. Replies are picked up by inbox sync, about every 15 minutes in working hours.
Yes. The "if connected" condition splits the sequence into two paths: yes for people who accepted, not yet for people who did not within the time you set (1 to 30 days, 3 by default). Your messages go on the yes path. On the not yet path you can end, stay visible with a like or a follow, or withdraw the invite.
No. Personade sequences are LinkedIn only: profile visits, invites, messages, follows, likes, endorsements and invite withdrawals. There are no email or InMail steps.
Yes. You can change a live sequence, and leads are moved by step, so nobody gets the same step twice. Leads who are halfway through carry on from where they were.
More of what Personade does
All featuresLead sourcing
Pull leads from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator searches, events, posts, groups, your network or a CSV.
See lead sourcingUnified inbox
Every reply from every campaign and every LinkedIn account, in one inbox.
See unified inboxCampaign analytics
Invites, accepts and replies for every campaign, day by day, with A/B results and CSV export.
See campaign analyticsMulti-account
Run several LinkedIn accounts from one workspace, each campaign sent by the account you pick.
See multi-accountAccount safety
A fixed residential IP per account, a three-week warm-up, daily limits and working hours.
See account safety
Further reading
- LinkedIn outreach, the whole workflowHow leads, sequences, the inbox and safety fit together in one campaign.
- A cold message that does not get ignoredWhat to put in the first message of your sequence, and what to leave out.
- Keep your LinkedIn account safeDaily limits, working hours and a warm-up, so your sequences run at a human pace.
- Personade vs SkyleadTwo ways to build LinkedIn sequences, compared side by side.
- Personade vs ExpandiCloud LinkedIn automation with sequences and follow-ups, compared.
Build your first LinkedIn sequence today
Every feature is on every plan. Pro is $49 a month for one LinkedIn account, or $39 a month billed yearly. Agency is $39 per account a month, 3 accounts at least. Both start with 14 days free.