Most people are doing LinkedIn outreach completely wrong:
❌ Writing "personalized novels" - Spending 10 minutes researching each prospect
Cody Ruby noted that in the beginning, his messages were "way too long" and focused too much on himself and his company rather than being relevant to the prospect's problems.
He stressed the limited "real estate" in subject lines and opening message lines, advising against long self-introductions.
Cody also prioritizes relevance over personalization, arguing that trying to mention shared colleges or hobbies is less effective than focusing on common professional ground.
❌ Using fancy templates - Complex messaging that takes 30+ seconds to read
Greg Hurwitz identified "being too long, speaking too much, trying to be too salesy" as a mistake, stating that being "too pushy" or explaining "way too much" leads to loss of attention.
Alicia uses the "KISS philosophy (Keep It Simple, Stupid)" and keeps her messages to "10 to 15 words max" because, as a business owner, she lacks patience for long, formal messages. She warns that "you can't just do AI, you have to have it accompanied by a personal touch.”
❌ Hard closing immediately - "Are you open to a 15-minute call?"
Jeremy Dixon's strategy involves an intro and then asking, "Would you be open to talking?" or "Can I send you over some information, or like a video?". He emphasizes not being annoying in cold outreach.
❌ Following up with "Did you see my message?" - Obviously they saw it and chose not to respond
Jeremy Dixon strongly dislikes this follow-up phrase, calling it "pointless" and "annoying" because "obviously they saw it and they didn't respond cuz they're not interested". He instead rephrases his previous message.
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The result of doing all this? Single-digit response rates and frustrated prospects who block you.
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