LinkedIn Ads

Turn your LinkedIn Sponsored Content into a Sponsored InMail in 10 minutes

With long-form content and no maximum character counts in the body, writing a LinkedIn Sponsored InMail message can seem daunting. If you’ve ever wondered what to do with all that white space, we’re here to help.

The fastest way to get started with Sponsored InMail is by using creative you’ve already designed for other ad products like LinkedIn Sponsored Content. Although Sponsored Content has fewer allowable characters, below are tips on how you can re-purpose these ads to easily create compelling Sponsored InMail messages.

For example, turn this Sponsored Content:

Into this Sponsored InMail in 10 minutes:

1. Sender: While Sponsored Content is posted from a Company or Showcase Page, Sponsored InMails are sent from individual senders. Sending from an individual fits the personal nature of LinkedIn’s messaging platform and creates a stronger connection with your reader. Choose a sender from your company who’s relevant to your target audience and has instant credibility. In our example, Saied Amiry, Global Marketing Director of our education vertical, is a perfect choice for this higher-ed audience.

2. Subject: Your Sponsored Content introductory text can easily be made into a compelling Sponsored InMail subject line. Example:

  • Sponsored Content introductory text: “You’re invited: LinkedIn Education Connect NY on Thursday, September 22nd...”
  • Sponsored InMail subject line: “You’re invited: Education Connect 2016”

3. Message body: To create your Sponsored InMail message, simply take what you already have in your Sponsored Content intro text and provide some more elaboration. Another often overlooked source of content is the copy on your landing page. Your landing page typically has all the content you need, already written! Re-purpose this content to efficiently create your message, just add a few personal touches.

Remember, we recommend a body copy length of 1,000 characters or fewer. Concise messages are easier for the reader to follow and perform better on mobile devices. Also, make sure you include a hyperlink early on in the body of your message to boost click-through rates to your landing page.

4. Call-to-action (CTA):  As with your Sponsored Content, connect your message to a clear action you want your user to take. Be creative but stick to the point. Examples:

  • Download now
  • Sign up to attend
  • Get started
  • Register now

Remember to make sure all parts of your message logically connect to the call-to-action and drive the reader to take that action.

5. Banner image: Including a standard 300x250 banner image is highly recommended (but optional). These banners are displayed on LinkedIn’s desktop experience, are clickable by the reader, and bring a visual element to your message. Including a banner that complements your content will ensure your Sponsored InMail is fully optimized.

6. Targeting: A best practice is to test your audience using Sponsored Content, analyze the demographic reporting for your campaign, and then send personalized Sponsored InMails to those groups who are engaging most with your content. We recommend an audience size of 300,000+ members when using Sponsored Content in order to get broad reach. Complement that with a narrower and more precisely targeted Sponsored InMail campaign. We recommend 100,000 or fewer members for your InMail campaigns.

By using your Sponsored Content posts and transforming them into winning Sponsored InMails, you’ll be able to send highly personalized messages directly to the people who matter most to your business. Get started creating your Sponsored InMail today.