LinkedIn: 6 Things to Keep in Mind When Connecting With Someone You Don't Know

• Time is valuable for the business-minded users of LinkedIn, and cutting to chase will be appreciated by your busy audience.
• Let the contact know who you are and what you are looking for right out the gate, whether it be a demo of your services or advice in your field.
• Being direct saves both sides time. This show of respect and transparency will pay dividends down the line for both your immediate connection success rate and long-term reputation in the industry.

Providing multiple avenues of contact on your LinkedIn profile does a world of good for your page.

Listing your email, phone number, etc., on your profile increases the chance your requests are accepted. In addition, it adds legitimacy that you are a real person who is open to business opportunities.

Before reaching out to any new contact, remember that the prospective connection will almost certainly scan your post history and profile.

Even if someone hasn’t actively commented on your post or looked at your profile, they still can see some of your past activity. So, it never hurts to fine-tune your profile and post history to ensure everything listed is accurate and relevant to your current goals.

It can be a bit off-putting to ask for something of value before providing anything of worth to a connection.

Getting around this is difficult but not impossible. It can be as little as an insight into a recent post or an idea for collaboration. This moves you from the needy categorization into a more contributive tone, which is far more attractive to new connections.