Answers · New customer acquisition · As of 6 October 2026
LinkedIn request: with or without a note?
Short answerWith a note, if you want replies. Requests without a note are accepted slightly more often: 27.6% versus 25.3%. However, 8.2% of recipients reply to requests with a personal note, and only 5.3% without a note1.
Acceptance and reply are two different things
Belkins has analysed outreach to more than 15 million contacts. The average acceptance rate is 26%1.
An accepted request is not yet a conversation. What matters is whether a reply follows, and that is where the note makes the difference1.
Which reply rate is typical
Across all contacts, the reply rate is 7.2%. Depending on the industry, it ranges from 4.2% to 10.5%1.
The month plays a small role
In April, the reply rate is highest at 7.9%, and in September it is lowest at 6.3%1. The difference is smaller than that between requests with and without a note.
What is even more effective
Outreach that builds on a previous response from the recipient achieves reply rates of 21.3% and above, according to figures from Common Room2.
Sources
- Belkins: LinkedIn outreach study: belkins.io
- Common Room: Turn LinkedIn signals into pipeline: commonroom.io
Every figure on this page comes from the source named next to it and was read on the date shown above. Figures from studies describe the sample examined; they are no promise for an individual case.