LinkedIn DM

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name: linkedin-dm description: Send personalized LinkedIn direct messages to a list of existing 1st-degree connections via browser automation. Use when the user wants to message LinkedIn connections with AI-personalized outreach — e.g. nurturing leads, following up after events, reconnecting with contacts, or announcing something. Takes a data file (CSV/TSV) or plain list with connection names and companies, asks for outreach context/goal, generates a tailored message per person, and sends each one via browser automation. Handles message compose flow, character limits, and incremental status tracking.

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LinkedIn DM

Sends personalized LinkedIn messages to existing 1st-degree connections. Each message has:

A personalized opening unique to each person (based on their profile + relationship to the sender)

A consistent product/pitch section confirmed once by the user and reused for all messages

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⚠️ Pre-flight Checklist — Confirm Before Starting

1. Connection List

Ask the user for their data file or list. Must include (or be added):

Person Name — full name

Company/Role — their current company or role

LinkedIn URL — optional but helpful

Message Status — column for tracking (add if missing)

If only a plain list is provided, offer to convert to TSV.

2. Read Sender's LinkedIn Profile (mandatory)

Before writing any messages, navigate to /in/me/ and read the sender's profile:

Name and current role/company

Career history — companies, roles, years

Education — college, degree, batch years

Location

Store these facts. They are used to identify relationship hooks with each connection.

3. Confirm the Pitch (once, upfront)

Ask the user: > *"What's your pitch / product message? This will be the consistent part of every message. Describe it in 1–2 sentences."*

Then draft a polished pitch section (2–4 sentences max, punchy and clear). Show it to the user and get explicit approval. Do not start sending until the pitch is confirmed.

Example prompt: *"Here's the pitch I'll use for everyone — confirm or edit:* > *'I'm building an AI calling agent — you give it a phone number + context, and it handles the call end-to-end. Think customer follow-ups, research calls, vendor coordination — anything phone-based that eats into your day. Happy to show you a demo if this sounds useful.'"*

4. Browser Setup

Option A — Chrome Browser Relay (profile="chrome"): extension attached to LinkedIn tab (badge ON) — recommended for flagged accounts

Option B — OpenClaw Isolated Browser (profile="openclaw"): openclaw-managed Chrome, LinkedIn logged in

5. CRM Sheet

Ask the user for a Google Sheet ID/URL to log outreach results. If they don't have one, offer to set one up (create tab + write headers). Confirm gog is authenticated (gog auth list).

If the user skips this, fall back to local linkedin_dm_progress.json but remind them the follow-up skill needs the sheet.

6. Ready Check

Only proceed once:

✅ List is ready

✅ Sender profile has been read

✅ Pitch is confirmed by user

✅ Browser is open with LinkedIn logged in

✅ Sheet ID confirmed (or sidecar fallback acknowledged)

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Relationship Analysis (per person)

Before writing a message, compare the connection's profile against the sender's profile to find the strongest hook. Use this hierarchy — pick the highest that applies:

| Priority | Hook | Example opener | |---|---|---| | 1 | Same company (current or past) | "You and I both spent time at CRED…" | | 2 | Same college + overlapping years | "Fellow BITS Goa 2018 batch here…" | | 3 | Same college (different years) | "BITS connect here — saw your journey from…" | | 4 | Same industry/function | "Both been in fintech/product for a while…" | | 5 | Mutual connection | "We're both connected to [Name]…" | | 6 | Their work context (no personal hook) | "Seen what you've built at [Company]…" |

Combine the hook with a line about their current work to show you know what they do.

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Message Structure

Send as two separate messages per person, back to back:

Message 1 — Personalized opener (unique per person)

[Relationship hook — 1 sentence]
[Acknowledgement of their work/role — 1 sentence]

Target: 100–180 chars. Feels like a genuine reach-out from someone who knows them.

Message 2 — Pitch (identical for everyone, confirmed upfront)

[Product description — 1–2 sentences]
[Relevant use case for their role — 1 sentence]
[Soft CTA — 1 sentence]

Target: 150–250 chars. Clear, punchy, no filler.

Why two messages?

Opener lands first — they see it before the pitch, feels more personal

Pitch is clearly a separate thought, not buried at the end

Mirrors how a human would actually message a connection

Fallback: If sending two messages is technically difficult (e.g. bubble re-focusing issues), use Shift+Enter twice between the opener and pitch to create a paragraph break within a single message.

Do not:

Open with "I hope you're well" or "I came across your profile"

Use the same opening for multiple people

Change the pitch section per person

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Batch Preview Before Sending

Generate messages for the entire list first. Present them in a table:

| Name | Company | Relationship Hook Used | Message Preview | |---|---|---|---| | Shorya Saini | Razorpay | Same BITS batch | Hey Shorya, BITS Goa 2018 batch… |

Get user approval on the full batch before opening the browser. Allow edits per row.

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Sending Flow (Per Person)

1. Navigate to /feed/ — mandatory, no exceptions, no skipping 2. Wait 3–5 seconds 3. Search connections at linkedin.com/mynetwork/invite-connect/connections/ — type name in "Search by name" 4. Handle results: - 1 match → confirm name + headline → click to open profile - Multiple matches → show user, ask which one - 0 matches → mark Not a Connection, skip 5. Read their profile if not already done (for personalisation) 6. Click Message button on their profile 7. Send Message 1 — personalized opener only, send it 8. Send Message 2 — pitch only, send it immediately after 9. Confirm both delivered 10. Log to CRM sheet — append row via gog sheets append with all fields (see CRM Tracking section)

See references/browser-workflow.md for exact browser automation steps.

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Status Values

| Status | Meaning | |---|---| | Sent | Message delivered this session | | Already Messaged | Recent conversation exists — skip | | Not a Connection | No Message button or not in connections search | | Profile Not Found | Could not identify the right person | | Skipped | User chose to skip | | Failed | Browser error — retry next session |

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Anti-Detection Rules

/feed/ before every single profile — non-negotiable

3–5 second wait after feed loads

Max 15–20 messages per session

Stop immediately if LinkedIn warns about messaging rate — tell the user

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CRM Tracking — Google Sheet

After each message is sent, append a row to a Google Sheet. This sheet is the source of truth for all outreach — current session and future follow-up.

Sheet Setup

Ask the user for a Google Sheet ID or URL at the start of the session (or offer to create a new one). The sheet should have a tab named Outreach with these columns:

| Col | Field | Notes | |---|---|---| | A | Date Sent | ISO date, e.g. 2026-02-13 | | B | Person Name | Full name | | C | Role / Title | Their current headline from LinkedIn | | D | Company | Current company | | E | LinkedIn URL | Profile URL | | F | Relationship Hook | What hook was used (e.g. "Same batch BITS Goa 2018", "Both at CRED 2022–23") | | G | Opener Sent | Exact text of Message 1 | | H | Pitch Sent | Exact text of Message 2 | | I | Campaign | Short label for this batch (e.g. "AI Calling - Feb 2026") | | J | Status | Always Sent when first logged — updated by follow-up skill | | K | Notes | Anything notable (prior conversation, context, mutual connection used) | | L | Last Updated | Timestamp of last status change |

Column I (Status) lifecycle — only Sent is written by this skill. The follow-up skill will update to: Replied · Call Scheduled · Demo Done · Follow Up Sent · No Response · Closed Won · Closed Lost

Appending a Row

After each message pair is sent, run:

gog sheets append  "Outreach!A:L" \
  --values-json '[["","","","","","","","","","Sent","",""]]' \
  --insert INSERT_ROWS

First-Time Setup

If no sheet exists yet, tell the user: > "I'll need a Google Sheet to track outreach. Share an existing sheet ID/URL, or I can create one with the right columns."

To create a new sheet, use Drive (or ask user to create one and share the ID). Then write the header row:

gog sheets update  "Outreach!A1:L1" \
  --values-json '[["Date Sent","Person Name","Role / Title","Company","LinkedIn URL","Relationship Hook","Opener Sent","Pitch Sent","Campaign","Status","Notes","Last Updated"]]' \
  --input USER_ENTERED

Local Sidecar (fallback)

If Google Sheets is not set up, fall back to a local linkedin_dm_progress.json:

{
  "campaign": "AI Calling - Feb 2026",
  "pitch": "confirmed pitch text",
  "rows": [
    {
      "date": "2026-02-13",
      "name": "Shorya Saini",
      "role": "Senior Analytics Specialist",
      "company": "Razorpay",
      "url": "https://linkedin.com/in/shorya-saini",
      "hook": "Same batch BITS Goa 2018",
      "opener": "Hey Shorya...",
      "pitch": "I'm building...",
      "status": "Sent",
      "notes": ""
    }
  ]
}