Puvio
· Written by the Puvio team · Deepam, founder · Corrections · Start free
Steps
Decide if a connection request is even the move
If you can already message them, skip the connect box and send the full note. If you cannot, the request note has to earn the accept.
Put overlap in the capped field
School, prior employer, or one piece of their work. Why them, in one line. LinkedIn limits this field. Do not invent extra space.
Leave the ask and the résumé out
No PDF. No please hire me. No calendar link. After they accept, send the referral bones: fit line, small yes, easy out.
If they never accept, stop
Do not send a second request. Pick another name. Copy a Puvio draft if you used one. Send it from your own account.
Connect box versus the message after they accept
| Field | What fits | What to put | What to save for later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection request note | A short, capped field | Overlap plus why them | Referral ask, résumé, calendar |
| Message after accept | A normal LinkedIn message | Fit line, small ask, easy out, two-liner | A second connect request |
| Already connected | Inbox | Full note on day 0 | A connect-box performance |
| They ignore the request | Nothing | Stop. Next name | A follow-up connect |
The connection-request note is a gated field. LinkedIn limits how much you can write. People accept or ignore it in a list, often from a phone. A cover letter in that list looks like spam. A résumé cannot go there. The ask for a referral spends their social capital. That ask belongs in a real message after they know who you are.
If you can already message them, skip the connect box. Priya Mehta skipped connect-box theatrics and sent a short note to a Stanford alum she could already reach. Reply in twenty-two hours. Story: puvio.app/stories/warm-intro
A request with no overlap sits with every other cold note. Public sales research on cold email often lands around 6 percent replies. That is an industry reference, not a Puvio number. Source: blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-email-templates
One example. Copy the structure. Change every fact. Keep it inside LinkedIn's limit. Do not invent a character cap from a blog post.
"Hi [Name]. [School / prior co] overlap, and I have been reading your work on [specific]. Would like to connect. Happy to explain in a follow-up if useful."
After they accept, send the referral page bones: fit line, a small yes, an easy out, a two-liner they can forward. That page: puvio.app/answers/how-to-ask-for-a-referral
Paste their LinkedIn profile URL. Puvio researches them against your record and drafts a note. A critic pass looks for template tells. You still have to fit that draft into the connect field, or wait until you can send a full message. Puvio does not click Connect for you.
We are strictly against spam. No mass send. No auto-apply. No auto-connect. Trust: puvio.app/trust