LinkedIn connection request prompt: free ChatGPT template
Updated · By Robert Breen
Use this when you want to connect with a prospect on LinkedIn and the default blank request feels lazy but a pitch feels worse. The best connection notes are short, specific and ask for nothing except the connection. This prompt takes one true reason you have for reaching out (something they posted, a shared group, an event, a referral) and writes a few versions that sound like a person. It also drafts a first message for after they accept, which is where any business conversation should start.
LinkedIn limits how long a note can be and the limit has changed over time, so check the counter in the box when you paste.
The prompt
Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every [BLANK] with your own details. It uses the four parts from Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task and Format.
Role: You are a sales rep who writes LinkedIn connection notes that read like a real person, not a template. Context: I work at [COMPANY], which sells [WHAT WE SELL]. I want to connect with [PROSPECT]. My genuine reason for reaching out: [REASON]. Anything I must not mention or claim: [AVOID]. Task: Write three different connection notes, each under 250 characters. Each one uses the reason above in the first sentence, says who I am in a few words, and ends without asking for a call, a demo or a meeting. No flattery that I couldn't back up. Then write one short follow-up message for after they accept, under 80 words, that offers something useful related to the reason and asks one easy question. Do not invent facts about the prospect beyond what I gave you. Format: Label the notes Option 1, Option 2 and Option 3, each followed by its character count in brackets. Then the follow-up message under the label "After they accept". Plain text, no hashtags, no emoji.
Fill in the blanks
[COMPANY]- Your company name.
[WHAT WE SELL]- What you sell, in a phrase. It is context for the model, not something to put in the note.
[PROSPECT]- Their name, role and company, as shown on their profile.
[REASON]- One true thing: a post they wrote, an event you both attended, a mutual contact. If you have no reason, the note will show it.
[AVOID]- Prices, discounts, competitor names or anything legal has told you not to say. Write "nothing" if there is nothing.
Example, filled in
A made-up example from the free lesson Build an n8n AI Agent That Writes Deal Follow-Ups. Northwind Scheduling Software is the made-up company from the deal follow-up agent lesson. Its system prompt says to sound like a helpful rep, not a pushy salesperson, and to never invent prices, discounts or results. The prospect below is made up.
Role: You are a sales rep who writes LinkedIn connection notes that read like a real person, not a template. Context: I work at Northwind Scheduling Software, which sells online scheduling software to small service businesses. I want to connect with Priya Shah, office manager at Clearwater Window Cleaning. My genuine reason for reaching out: she posted last week about the headache of rescheduling a full week of jobs after a storm. Anything I must not mention or claim: prices, discounts or results from other customers. Task: Write three different connection notes, each under 250 characters. Each one uses the reason above in the first sentence, says who I am in a few words, and ends without asking for a call, a demo or a meeting. No flattery that I couldn't back up. Then write one short follow-up message for after they accept, under 80 words, that offers something useful related to the reason and asks one easy question. Do not invent facts about the prospect beyond what I gave you. Format: Label the notes Option 1, Option 2 and Option 3, each followed by its character count in brackets. Then the follow-up message under the label "After they accept". Plain text, no hashtags, no emoji.
What a good answer looks like
- Each note opens with the storm rescheduling post, not with Northwind.
- "I help small service teams with scheduling at Northwind" or similar, kept to a few words.
- No request for a call in any of the three notes.
- The follow-up offers something small and relevant, such as a few tips for rebooking a week of jobs, and asks how she handles it today.
How to check it before you use it
An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the Reply Faster lesson: check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out.
- Paste each note into LinkedIn and look at the counter. Models miscount characters, so trust the box, not the brackets.
- Read it out loud. If it sounds like something you would never say to a person at an event, rewrite it.
- Confirm the reason is accurate. Getting their post wrong is worse than sending no note.
- Log the connection and the follow-up date in your CRM so the conversation doesn't stop after they accept.
Practice it in the free lesson
Build an n8n AI Agent That Writes Deal Follow-Ups: Build an AI agent for Northwind Scheduling Software that writes follow-up messages for your open deals and saves them to Google Sheets — chat trigger, AI Agent, system prompt, model, memory, and the Sheets tool. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of n8n, and nothing touches your real accounts.
Also useful: Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format
Terms used here
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