Invitation Limits: How to avoid a Linkedin penalty?

You’ve reached the weekly invitation limit. To verify this member knows you, please enter their email to connect. It appears you’re visiting a very high number of pages on LinkedIn with supernatural frequency. We think you may be using an automation tool.

invitations-limit If these words ring a bell, then you’ve most likely been a victim of LinkedIn’s ever-changing algorithms. And it looks like you’re not the only one. Since November 2020, an increasing number of sales professionals have been complaining about the limited number of connection requests that can be sent per day or week and they’ve been asking for help. Unfortunately, we need to clear things out right from the start. There’s no universal solution that can be applied to all the invitations that are sent or a quick-fix that can be put into action. LinkedIn’s algorithm is still not 100% transparent. However, after reading various opinions from industry leaders, we've developed a LinkedIn lead generation guide you can trust.

What are the challenges?

LinkedIn is still one of the most effective lead generation and engagement tools available. Because it was so popular, many people merely perceived it as a way to gain quick money. As a result of these aggressive “campaigns”, they spent a lot of time and money sending bulk invitations, connection requests, and DMs, regardless of the value they added to the community. The result was turning a mine into a swamp. LinkedIn clearly cares about the network's quality and adjusts the rules of the game on a regular basis. They insist on the fact that it is important for the maintenance of high communication standards, the preservation of a healthy environment, and the maintenance of a comfortable and valuable platform for organizations of all sizes. So to protects their users, their team implemented the following adjustments:

Weekly invitation limit

We've been struggling with this problem at Leadmaker.io for a while and it looks like we’ve put an end to it. However, there used to be a mechanism behind weekly restrictions that took into account a variety of parameters, such as:
  • What was the total number of the invitations that you sent out?
  • How many invitations are still outstanding?
  • What percentage of invites was accepted?
  • How many invites were rejected?
Then came the latest upgrade, which hit us like a ton of bricks. Since March, it appears like LinkedIn has been experimenting with new constraints, enabling certain users to send only roughly 100 invitations every week.

While it isn't affecting all LinkedIn accounts just yet, it could be an A/B test or a targeted approach against people whose behaviors are flagged as spam by LinkedIn. However, it's possible that this change will be rolled out to all profiles soon and will affect everyone.
invitations-limit

What should you do?

If you receive a limit notification every week, then stop sending invitation requests until the following week so that you can reset the algorithm.
You can also get around this restriction by using a different LinkedIn lead generation method. There is a solution suggested by The Linked Helper (LinkedIn automation tool) consisting of a combination of Linked Helper which means inviting 2nd or 3rd degree acquaintances over their email addresses and Leadmaker.io.
By using this strategy, you can avoid the weekly notification limit and increase your lead generating efforts. To obtain the full set of instructions on how to do that, click here.

Email address required for an invitation

When sending connection requests, you may be required to enter an email address for a variety of reasons. The most frequent one, which is also mentioned in LinkedIn Help, is represented by too many people clicking on the “I don’t know this person” button and automatically rejecting your invitation. invitation-deleted According to rumors, five consecutive IDK responses to your invitations are enough for LinkedIn to start asking for your email address. Another reason for getting these messages, according to Max Makarenko, the founder and CEO of Docsify, is a weak connection rate. If you stop sending messages, the ban will automatically be removed in 2-4 weeks. Check your pending requests as well; there could be thousands of them that you are not aware of.

What is the solution?

First, you should work on customization. Instead of sending a standard connection request, spend time on researching, clarifying why you’re reaching out, and asking open-ended questions. Even if they don’t know the sender, leads are unlikely to report such invitations if done correctly. Another suggestion is to keep track the amount of pending invites and cancel those that haven’t been accepted. It would be great to keep the total number to under 500, by creating a rule to take them out once or twice a month. manage-invitations

Automation tool warning

automation-warning
Why does this happen?

It is possible that LinkedIn identified the use of shady automation software or browser add-ons. It is recommended not to skimp on such matters and instead opt for secure solutions like Expandi, Linked Helper, Dux-Soup, and others. Bot-like behavior could also be a reason for them blocking your account. It seems suspicious if the only activity performed by the visitors is to view a huge number of profiles. It becomes considerably more suspicious if they only send connection requests. It also raises doubts if their inquiries are generally ignored (or are accepted, but there’s no communication).

What’s LinkedIn’s opinion about restrictions?

We discovered that the official LinkedIn connection restrictions are rather vaguely defined. For the following reasons, the platform may temporarily disable your account’s ability to enforce invites to other network users:

  • There were far too many LinkedIn invites sent in a short amount of time.
  • The invites have been refused or reported as spam by far too many individuals.

After one week, most restrictions are automatically eliminated. However, depending on the type of limitations you have, the LinkedIn team recommends considering this:

  • First restriction - Try waiting for several hours then try again.
  • If multiple restrictions a day occur, they wait a few days before trying again.
  • Wait roughly a month before attempting to send a new connection request if you have restrictions concerning too many outstanding invitations.

Furthermore, as stated on the official website, the platform offers the following suggestions for avoiding invitation limits:

  • Maintain a list of high-quality contacts in your contact database.
  • Only invite those people you know and trust.
  • Add some context to your invitation message by personalizing it, reminding the prospect how you got to know them, or explaining why you want to connect.
  • Use InMail and Groups to contact LinkedIn members you don’t know directly.
  • Ensure that your profile includes a photo and is up to date with current information so that your audience can recognize you.
  • Incorporate LinkedIn's Professional Community Policies and User Agreement into your networking approach.

As you can see, LinkedIn’s guidance on restrictions isn’t very explicit. As a result, we took matters into our own hands and created a list of practical advice with the help of specialists who have experience with a variety of accounts and technologies.

LinkedIn lead generation without restrictions in 2022

Work on your metrics
To identify the ideal approach for your audience, you must first have a thorough understanding of your audience. To get the most out of your LI efforts, make sure you follow these basic steps:
Make an ICP, BP, and VP
Define and update your Ideal Customer Profile and Buyer Persona on a regular basis. Practicing segmentation and personalisation may have certain benefits. Create a Value Proposition and messaging that are tailored to your ICP and BP. You can also use polls to learn more about your target audience's interests and demands. It helps you improve your offer.
Test, modify, repeat
Assess your messages, analyze how they are received by the audience, make changes, and repeat this procedure. You should also update your value proposition and buyer personas as often as possible to ensure that you are targeting the proper audience, presenting them with the best deal possible, and allocating time and resources appropriately.
Warm up your account
To ensure that your activity does not appear suspicious, it is recommended that you do not exceed a predetermined level of requests until your profile has warmed up.
LinkedIn invitations limit per day:
  • 1-5 days — 10 daily connection invites.
  • 5-10 days — 20 daily connection invites.
  • 15-20 days — 30 daily connection invites.
  • 20-25 days — 50 daily connection invites.
Continue in this manner for around two weeks while keeping an eye on your account. After that, you can gradually increase the number of invitations you send out each day. If your acceptance rate is less than 60%, however, sending more than 50 connections per day is not recommended.
The amount of connection requests you receive is also determined by the account type you have. We recommend sending no more than 30 invitations each day for a free Linkedin accounts with roughly 2000 contacts and a 60% average acceptance rate, and 50-70 daily invites for a Sales Navigator.
Make it a rule to only invite 3-5 percent of your entire LinkedIn connections on a daily basis. Slowing down is important for safety, but you still need results, so it's all about finding the right balance.
LinkedIn message limits:
  • The safest, slowest approach is to send 30 texts per day.
  • 50-70 messages per day — only for warmed-up profiles; send them throughout the day.
  • 70-100 messages every day — premium accounts only, and only if you're certain it's on point.
LinkedIn monthly search limits:
  • If your profile is new or cold, you'll get 30 searches.
  • If your profile is warmed up and free, you can run up to 300 searches.
  • For premium profiles and accounts with Sales Navigator, there is no limit.
How to warm up your LinkedIn account manually:
To gradually increase your acceptance rate among LinkedIn users, we recommend performing the following:
  • Visit a profile, but do it properly. Avoid pasting the profile's URL into the address bar of your browser or opening it in a new tab. Instead, type the lead's name into the LinkedIn search window and identify the correct profile from the list.
  • Like their last two or three articles or updates.
  • Wait 24 hours before returning to your prospect and following their profile.
  • Send out your connection invitation with a personal message after another 24 hours.
  • Follow up after your invitation has been accepted. Send gradually a couple of messages until someone responds.
  • Maintain a daily rate of 50-70 invitations and delete any pending invitations.
To increase your chances of success, warm up your prospects through other networks. To help them recognize your brand, try to follow the lead on other channels. When you leave a comment on one of their posts or follow them on social media, such as Facebook, they are notified and become aware of your presence. Your connection request will have a better probability of being accepted if your leads see you on LinkedIn.
This may appear to be a lot of manual work, but there are a number of trustworthy automation programs, such as Expandi, Linked Helper, and others, that may assist you in warming up your account. However, when automating your outreach, there are a few things to keep in mind. We’ll cover them below.
Enhance your Social score
All LinkedIn profiles are rated from 0 to 100 in four categories, each with a maximum of 25 points, according to the index:
  • Establishing your professional brand = how developed is your profile?
  • Finding the relevant people = how frequently do you upload content that is popular on social media (likes, shares, and comments)?
  • Engaging with information = does your contact network match your profile (skills, position, keywords)?
  • Building relationships = how actively is your network growing?
According to our experience, it should be at least 50, with 60-80 putting your profile at the top of the industry and network SSI rankings. Getting 100 is nearly impossible.
Establishing your professional brand
Come get your All-Star badge! all-star-badge-profile This is one of the most difficult but long-lasting characteristics to improve. You must complete all of the profile sections to receive a 25% score:
  • Fill in all of the required fields, such as a headline, profile image, summary, and work experience, until your profile is complete. Make full use of all fields and share your accomplishments, what you're proud of, and what you've accomplished.
  • Share samples of your work and emphasize the times when you added value to your clients.
  • Enhance your abilities. The greater the number, the better . You can add up to 50 skills to the platform that will work as keywords, increasing your visibility.
  • When it comes to skills, endorse your coworkers, clients, and other contacts, and they will return the favor.
  • Customers and partners should be asked for their feedback and suggestions. Every time you complete a successful project or attend a webinar, we recommend doing this. You can even seek the help of former employees. Only a couple of referrals per month are enough.
  • To establish oneself as an expert in your subject, publish useful multimedia content. LinkedIn suggests that you use SlideShare to make a brief introduction of your services or products, as well as providing well-written longreads that demonstrate your professional experience.
profile-stats-1 Remember that your entire profile should emphasize your skills while also focusing on your ICP.

Speaking of that…
Finding the right people
If you've properly established your ICP and BP, you shouldn't have any difficulty in maxing out this parameter.

It works – you only contact firms that are a good fit for you. LinkedIn assesses the relevance of your network of contacts to your professional profile. So, think about it: how well do your talents, education, position, keywords, and other characteristics fit? Take a look at these tips and tricks:
  • To engage with high-quality prospects faster, use efficient LI research tools. To target decision-makers, LinkedIn recommends using their Sales Navigator. Keep in mind that implementing this method can boost your SSI by 20% in just 6 months.
  • 2nd-degree contacts can help you expand your network. Filter them to locate potential customers.
  • Examine possible leads. To make connections, join LI groups, and track significant prospects, look for topics you have in common. You can also utilize Sales Navigator to obtain real-time information from them and contact them at the appropriate time.
  • Use Sales Navigator to check who has expressed an interest in your activity and has looked at your profile over the last 90 days.
There's one additional indicator to consider, which we've already discussed: rejection rate. If you have a large number of pending requests, this will have a negative impact on the metric. profile-stats-2
Engaging with insights
Your SSI score is directly influenced by your social activities. As a result, you should not overlook aspects such as:
  • How many of the posts you publish are relevant? (2 posts per week will be enough).
  • What kind of content do you have? (videos, links, articles, etc.).
  • How many people liked, shared, and commented on your posts.
  • How often do you participate in LinkedIn group discussions and comment on other people's posts?
We all definitely spend a lot of time scrolling through our LinkedIn feeds, so make it a habit to set aside 10 minutes each day to communicate with new clients. React to someone's post if it has caught your interest. Don't be shy if you have anything to say. Even a few likes and comments per week will make a significant difference:
  • Find useful information to share, talk about it with your contacts, and broaden your audience. Become a reliable source of information and interact with other people's ideas.
  • LinkedIn suggests that you show your contacts that you are interested in their accomplishments. If you come across any information regarding their success, share it with your connections and tag them in it.
  • Stay updated by reading your market news on LI. LinkedIn suggests using LinkedIn Pulse to share essential articles and using Sales Navigator to track your bookmarked accounts and leads.
  • Take part in the same discussions as your connections. Join LinkedIn Groups. Leave thoughtful, helpful feedback on your prospects' status updates.
  • When communicating with people, use new and relevant information about them to personalize your messaging. Your response rates, according to LinkedIn, can be used to evaluate the success of connection requests or InMail messages.
Building relationships
  • To connect and create trust with contacts and decision-makers in your market, use effective introductions.
  • Make it a priority to strengthen your ties with senior-level leaders in your field.
  • Make internal contacts and ask for good references from senior leaders and colleagues.
  • After connecting, cultivate relationships by reaching out from time to time and providing value with relevant news or solutions that can assist your prospects with their business problems.
profile-stats-3 Seems like a lot of work, right? But don’t worry, we’ve got your back with these practical and efficient tips.
Remember that every move in the right direction will help you improve your SSI, especially if you use LinkedIn tools like LI Sales Navigator, LI Pulse, LI InMail, LI Groups, SlideShare, TeamLink, and so on.
Personalize your messages
Personalized messages are more likely to be opened, read, and responded to than boilerplate content.
Personalization increases yourcampaign's conversion rate and, as a result, your ROI. Furthermore, higher open and response rates can help you increase your LinkedIn SSI and promote yourself as a relevant community member.
Be cautious with automation
Regardless of which LinkedIn automation tools you use, remember to be cautious to prevent receiving warnings or having your account blocked. Let's take a look at some LinkedIn experts' thoughts on automation security and make some notes for future work.
In a nutshell, major insights are:
  1. Even if all of your work on LinkedIn is done manually, there's a chance you'll get a notice that you're using some sort of automated software. Your account may be limited or possibly banned in the worst-case scenario.
  2. If you hand over control of your LinkedIn account to a colleague, keep in mind that the site tracks your computer's location and IP address. If LinkedIn notices that someone logs into your account from many countries on the same day, you may get a restriction and may be asked to explain the suspicious behavior.
  3. Even if your LinkedIn activity limitations are kept low, using automated tools could result in a ban or restriction.
  4. Because they all have technical restrictions, neither Chrome, other browser extensions, nor cloud API-based solutions can provide you with complete security.
  5. So far, browser-based or cloud browser-based tools have shown to be the safest options on the market. As a result, only their developers or LinkedIn developers can guarantee their security.
  6. No matter who manages your LinkedIn account – an assistant, a robot, or you — remember the safety standards. Keep track of your invite conversion rate, send them within daily activity restrictions (50-70), and remove pending invites at least once a month.
Bottom line
It's time to rediscover lead generation and begin providing genuine value to your audience. With this approach, every network we use — whether it's LinkedIn, Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram or Facebook — will become a thriving and healthy environment where everyone can profit and achieve new business goals without bothering others.