In 2025, LinkedIn remains an essential tool for professionals seeking to expand their networks, recruit top talent, and drive business growth.
One of the platform’s most powerful features is InMail, which allows users to send direct messages to individuals outside their immediate connections.
However, as LinkedIn allocates a limited number of InMail credits each month, it becomes crucial for users to use these credits efficiently to maximize outreach.
This guide will dive deep into everything you need to know about LinkedIn InMail, including how to make the most of your available credits, strategies to secure more InMail credits, and best practices to ensure your messages reach the right audience.
What Is InMail on LinkedIn?
InMail is a premium messaging feature offered by LinkedIn that allows users to send direct messages to individuals outside their immediate network.
Unlike regular messages, which can only be sent to 1st-degree connections, InMail enables outreach to 2nd and 3rd-degree connections , as well as individuals who are not part of your network at all.
This makes it an invaluable tool for professionals looking to engage with decision-makers, potential clients, or top talent.
Whether you're in sales, recruitment, or looking to expand your professional network, InMail provides a streamlined way to connect with people who may otherwise be difficult to reach.
Understanding LinkedIn InMail Credits
In 2025, LinkedIn continues to be a crucial platform for professional networking, recruitment, and business outreach.
One of its key features, InMail, allows users to send direct messages to individuals outside their immediate network.
However, since LinkedIn allocates a limited number of InMail credits each month, users need to adopt effective strategies to maximize their InMail credits for the best results.
This guide will explore everything you need to know about LinkedIn InMail, including how to use credits wisely and strategies to get more InMail credits linkedIn.
How Many InMail Credits Per Month Does LinkedIn Provide?
LinkedIn provides different amounts of InMail credits depending on the type of subscription you have. The most common subscriptions and their InMail allocations include
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Premium Career: 5 InMail credits per month
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Premium Business: 15 InMail credits per month
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Sales Navigator Core: 50 InMail credits per month
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Recruiter Lite: 30 InMail credits per month
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LinkedIn Recruiter: 150 to 500 InMail credits per month
These credits are renewed monthly, on the first day of your billing cycle. Unused credits roll over to the next month but must be used within 90 days.
LinkedIn Premium InMail Credits: Are They Worth It?
LinkedIn Premium subscriptions offer varying numbers of InMail credits, which can be beneficial for professionals looking to expand their network or reach out to potential clients or candidates.
The Premium Career plan, at $29.99 per month, provides 5 InMail credits per month. The Premium Business plan offers 15 InMail credits per month, priced at $59.99 per month.
Sales Navigator Core, designed for sales professionals, provides 50 InMail credits per month, with a subscription cost starting at $119.99 per month. For recruiters, Recruiter Lite offers 30 InMail credits per month at $140 per month.
How to Get More InMail Credits?
While LinkedIn provides a set number of InMail credits each month based on your subscription plan, there are several ways to increase the number of credits you have access to:
1. Upgrade to a Higher-Tier LinkedIn Subscription
If you're on a lower-tier plan, upgrading to a higher-tier subscription like a Premium Business account or LinkedIn Sales Navigator can provide you with additional InMail credits.
2. Purchase Additional InMail Credits
LinkedIn allows users to buy additional InMail credits beyond what is allocated with their subscription. If you consistently run out of credits, this is an option to scale your outreach efforts without needing to upgrade your plan.
3. Join LinkedIn Groups
When you're a member of LinkedIn Groups, you can often message group members without using your InMail credits.
This is a great way to expand your network and engage with individuals who share similar interests or work in the same industry.
While not all groups allow messaging outside your network, many do, and this can be a valuable workaround to save credits.
LinkedIn Premium Refund: What You Need to Know
If you're not satisfied with your LinkedIn Premium subscription, LinkedIn offers refunds within 30 days of purchase, provided you make a request within that time frame.
This applies to both annual and monthly subscriptions. To initiate a refund, you must contact LinkedIn’s customer service and follow their process for refund requests.
Here are some of the key points to remember
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30-Day Refund Window: Refunds are available only if you request them within 30 days of your purchase.
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Refund Process: You will need to contact LinkedIn customer support to request the refund. This can be done via their help center or by reaching out to their support team directly.
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Refund Eligibility: LinkedIn may require you to return any benefits or services you’ve already received, depending on the type of subscription and usage.
Strategies to Maximize InMail Credits
Maximizing your LinkedIn InMail credits requires a strategic approach to ensure that each message you send to find a job is well-targeted and likely to result in meaningful interactions.
Below are some proven strategies to help you get the most value from your InMail credits
1. Targeting the Right Audience
To ensure your InMails are reaching the most relevant professionals, use LinkedIn's advanced search filters. These filters help you narrow down potential recipients based on:
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Industry: Target individuals in the industries most relevant to your LinkedIn business page or recruitment goals.
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Job Title: Refine your search to professionals who hold specific roles or titles that align with your objectives.
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Location: Focus your LinkedIn outreach on individuals in regions where you want to expand your business or talent pool.
By targeting the right audience, you increase the chances of your message being well-received and responded to, ensuring your credits are being used effectively.
Try Linkedin Automation Tool for Recruiters
2. Crafting Effective Subject Lines
Your subject line is the first impression you make, so it's important to make it compelling. A well-crafted subject line can increase the likelihood that your recipient will open and engage with your InMail message.
Here are some tips:
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Keep it Concise: A short and direct subject line is more likely to be noticed
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Make it Personal: If possible, personalize the subject line with the recipient’s name or a reference to something specific on their profile.
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Create Curiosity or Value: A subject line that hints at the value of your message (e.g., "Opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals") can spark curiosity and drive better response rates.
3. Personalizing Your Messages
A personalized message will stand out much more than a generic one. To ensure that your InMail resonates with the recipient:
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Reference Their Profile: Mention something specific from the recipient’s LinkedIn profile (such as their skills, experience, or shared connections). This shows that you've taken the time to learn about them.
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Mention Mutual Connections: If you share connections, bring them up in your message to build trust and show common ground. This can significantly increase the chances of your message being well-received.
A personalized message not only improves your response rate but also helps establish a more meaningful connection from the outset.
How to Write Effective InMail Messages?
Writing an effective InMail message is important to maximizing your LinkedIn outreach. To ensure that your messages stand out and encourage a response, you need to craft messages that are clear, concise, and compelling.
Here are some key tips to write an effective InMail LinkedIn message:
1. Structure Your Message
Start by introducing yourself and explaining why you're reaching out. Keep it short and relevant to the recipient's interests or needs.
2. Define Value Proposition
Clearly outline what you can offer and how it aligns with the recipient's interests or goals. Highlight the benefits of engaging with you, whether it’s exploring opportunities, sharing knowledge, or collaborating on a project.
3. Clear Call to Action
Don’t leave the recipient guessing. Whether it’s asking for a meeting or requesting a response, make your call to action clear and actionable.
4. Make it Easy to Respond
Offer multiple options or tools to make taking action as easy as possible, such as a link to your calendar or a pre-suggested time for a meeting.
5. Follow-Up Timing:
Wait before following up. Don’t follow up immediately after sending the first message. Give the recipient time to review your message and respond. Wait 5-7 days before sending a polite reminder.
6. Provide Value in Follow-Up
Instead of just asking if they received your message, offer something of value in your follow-up email. This could be additional insights, a useful resource, or a fresh perspective on your original offer.
Tools and Extensions to Enhance InMail Usage
To get the most out of your InMail credits, there are various tools and extensions available that can help streamline your outreach, manage your credits efficiently, and enhance your LinkedIn prospecting efforts. Below are three powerful tools to consider:
1. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium tool designed specifically for professionals in sales, marketing, and recruitment. It offers several features that can help you improve your InMail usage:
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Advanced Search Filters: Sales Navigator allows you to refine your search with advanced filters such as job title, industry, company size, location, and more. This helps you target the most relevant professionals for your outreach.
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Lead Recommendations: The tool suggests potential leads based on your preferences and past interactions, helping you discover prospects you may have missed.
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Insights on Leads: It provides detailed information about your prospects, including recent activity, shared connections, and mutual interests, so you can tailor your messages more effectively.
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InMail Management: Sales Navigator integrates with LinkedIn InMail, enabling you to track the performance of your messages and optimize your Sales Navigator outreach strategies.
Try LinkedIn Sales Navigator Campaign
2. Evaboot Chrome Extension
Evaboot is a Chrome extension that enhances the functionality of LinkedIn and helps you manage InMail credits more efficiently. Key features include:
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Identifying Open Profiles: Evaboot allows you to quickly identify LinkedIn users with open profiles, meaning you can message them without using InMail credits.
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Exporting Lead Data: You can export lead data from LinkedIn Sales Navigator or LinkedIn search results to a CSV file for better outreach with team management . This saves you time and ensures that you're targeting the right people.
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InMail Credit Management: Evaboot helps you keep track of your InMail credits, giving you insights into how many credits you've used and how many remain. This way, you can plan your outreach more effectively.
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Lead Enrichment: It enhances your lead database by pulling additional contact information from LinkedIn profiles, making it easier to reach out and personalize your messages.
3. SalesRobot Automation
SalesRobot is an automation tool designed to streamline your LinkedIn outreach process. It’s especially useful for scaling your outreach and ensuring your InMail messages are sent efficiently:
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Automated InMail Outreach: SalesRobot can automate your InMail campaigns, allowing you to send personalized messages to a large number of prospects without manually composing each one.
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Follow-Up Sequences: You can set up automated follow-up messaging sequences, ensuring you don’t miss an opportunity to reconnect with someone who didn’t respond to your initial message.
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Tracking Campaign Performance: SalesRobot provides analytics to help you track the effectiveness of your outreach campaigns. By understanding how many recipients are opening and responding to your messages, you can adjust your strategy accordingly.
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Customizable Workflows: SalesRobot allows you to customize workflows based on recipient behavior, making your outreach more targeted and responsive.
Monitoring and Analyzing InMail Performance
To maximize the effectiveness of your LinkedIn InMail campaigns, it’s important to monitor how your messages are performing.
Tracking response rates and using data to adjust your strategy will ensure that your outreach efforts are optimized for better engagement.
1. Tracking Response Rates
LinkedIn provides built-in analytics tools that allow you to track the performance of your InMail campaigns. Key metrics to focus on include:
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Response Rate: The percentage of recipients who reply to your InMail messages. This is one of the most important metrics to track, as it indicates how engaging and relevant your message is to your audience.
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Open Rate: While LinkedIn doesn't explicitly provide open rates for InMail, you can infer them based on response rates and whether the recipient viewed your profile.
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Response Time: The average time it takes for your recipients to respond can give you insights into when your messages are most likely to get a reply.
Paying attention to these metrics will help you understand the effectiveness of your InMail outreach. If your response rate is low, it may indicate that your messaging needs improvement.
2. Adjusting Strategies Based on Analytics
Once you have gathered performance data, use it to refine and adjust your approach. Here are some ways you can optimize your InMail strategy:
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Targeting Different Job Titles or Industries: If certain job titles or industries are yielding better responses, you can focus more of your outreach on those sectors. Alternatively, if certain sectors aren’t responding as well, you can adjust your targeting to reach more relevant professionals.
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Refining Your Message Structure: If the data shows that recipients are not responding positively to your initial messages, consider tweaking the structure. Try different approaches, such as making your value proposition clearer or adjusting the tone of your message to be more compelling.
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Optimizing Subject Lines: If your open rate is low, your subject line might be the culprit. Use analytics to determine which subject lines generate higher engagement and experiment with variations. Test different styles: personalized subject lines, offering a value proposition, or posing a question to intrigue the recipient.
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Testing Different Call to Actions (CTAs): If your messages get read but don’t generate responses, the issue may lie in your CTA. Experiment with different CTAs, such as asking for a meeting, a connection request, or a reply to a specific question.
By continually analyzing and adjusting based on your InMail campaign’s performance, you’ll be able to improve your outreach strategy and increase the chances of getting a response.
Try LinkedIn Analytics to Increase Engagement
Conclusion
Maximizing LinkedIn InMail credits in 2025 is not just about sending messages—it’s about being strategic, personalizing your outreach, and targeting the right individuals.
By leveraging LinkedIn’s advanced tools, tracking the performance of your campaigns, and continuously refining your strategy based on data insights, you can ensure that every InMail message you send is impactful.
Adhering to LinkedIn’s best practices and policies will help you maintain a professional approach while effectively building meaningful connections.
With the right techniques and consistent analysis, you can make the most of your InMail credits and successfully achieve your business, networking, or recruitment objectives.


