Q: Do cold emails give better results than LinkedIn messages?
A: It depends on the way you want to prospect. Here we compare the efficiency of emails, LinkedIn messages, and InMail (LinkedIn premium messages) for prospecting and how you can combine them for better results.

Emails VS InMail VS LinkedIn Messages: What is the Most Effective?
To compare email vs LinkedIn messages, you need to consider these 7 criteria:
Reply Rate
Follow-Up
Velocity
Deliverability
Cost
Data Management
Scale

1. Open and Reply Rate
Q: Which has a better reply rate: LinkedIn messages, InMail, or emails?
A:Email Reply Rate: Email inboxes are often flooded. The widely accepted average reply rate for cold emails is approximately 1% to 10%, but can go up to 70% with highly personalized emails.
LinkedIn Message Reply Rate: LinkedIn message inboxes are less crowded, with an average reply rate of 5-20%.
InMail Reply Rate: LinkedIn InMails tend to perform better than emails, with an average reply rate of 10-25%.

2. Follow-Up
Q: How does follow-up impact the effectiveness of each method?
A:Email Follow-Up: On average, 95% of leads reply after the 7th follow-up email.
LinkedIn Message Follow-Up: LinkedIn messages require fewer follow-ups, typically getting replies after 3-4 follow-ups.
InMail Follow-Up: LinkedIn doesn’t allow follow-up InMails, meaning you only get one shot to get a reply from your prospect.

3. Velocity
Q: How quickly can you reach out to prospects using each method?
A:Email Velocity: You can send up to 150-200 emails per day safely with your email address.
LinkedIn Message Velocity: LinkedIn limits you to 100 invitations per week, which reduces your prospecting capacity significantly.
InMail Velocity: With LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you only get 50 InMail credits per month.

4. Deliverability
Q: What is the deliverability rate for each method?
A:Email Deliverability: Cold emails need to pass spam filters to land in the main inbox.
LinkedIn Message Deliverability: You can only send LinkedIn messages to your first-degree connections.
InMail Deliverability: InMails land directly in people’s inboxes without needing a connection request.

5. Cost
Q: What are the costs associated with each method?

Email Cost: Sending emails is free, but finding emails often requires paid tools.
LinkedIn Message Cost: LinkedIn messages are free, but you need to connect with the person first.
InMail Cost: You need to buy InMail credits, which require a premium LinkedIn subscription (e.g., Sales Navigator).

6. Data Management
Q: How does data management differ between these methods?
A:Email Data Management: Finding the right emails and keeping the data updated can be challenging.
LinkedIn Message Data Management: LinkedIn URLs are public and remain constant even if a person changes jobs.
InMail Data Management: Similar to LinkedIn messages, but you also see your InMail outreach history on Sales Navigator.

7. Scaling
Q: How scalable is each method?
A:Email Scaling: Cold emails are easy to scale; you can send 150-200 emails per day per email address.
LinkedIn Message Scaling: Requires creating multiple LinkedIn accounts to increase capacity, which is risky.
InMail Scaling: Expensive and limited by the number of credits you can purchase.

Combine Emails and LinkedIn Messages for Better Results
Q: How can you combine emails, LinkedIn messages, and InMails for better results?
A:Emails and LinkedIn Messages Are Complementary: Use emails for broad outreach and save LinkedIn messages and InMails for follow-ups.
Automate Multichannel Outreach: Tools like LaGrowthMachine can automate LinkedIn connection requests, messages, and emails.
Follow the Same Rules for Both Channels: Personalization, copywriting, and segmentation are key to getting replies, regardless of the channel.

Conclusion
To maximize your prospecting efforts:
Use a multichannel follow-up strategy, including LinkedIn messages, InMails, and emails.
Be specific and personalized in your outreach.
Combine the strengths of each channel to achieve the best results.