LinkedIn doesn't have message templates — on purpose
Gmail has Templates. Outlook has Quick Parts. LinkedIn messaging has… a blank box. The only place LinkedIn offers saved replies is inside the paid Recruiter product — and even there they're clunky. For the regular LinkedIn that recruiters, founders and salespeople actually live in, there's nothing built in.
So everyone improvises the same way: a "scripts" doc in another tab. It works, technically. It's also where good outreach goes to die.
The copy-paste-from-a-doc trap
The doc workflow has three quiet failure modes, and you've hit all of them:
- You paste the wrong block. Two openers look similar; you grab the one for cold prospects and send it to a warm referral.
- The formatting explodes. Paste from a doc and LinkedIn keeps the weird line breaks and font — instantly screaming "pasted, not written."
- You send "
Hi {first_name}". The single most embarrassing outreach mistake, and the doc workflow does nothing to stop it.
It's also just slow. Tab over, scroll the doc, select, copy, tab back, paste, re-read, fix. Every single message.
A scripts doc held together with hope and Ctrl+V is not a system. It's a liability you repeat 40 times a day.
The fix: saved replies, inserted at your cursor
The move is to stop pasting and start inserting. Canned Responses is a free, keyboard-first Chrome extension that runs on linkedin.com (and Gmail). You save a reply once; then, in any LinkedIn message box:
- Click into the box and start your message.
- Press Alt+A — a searchable picker opens at your cursor.
- Type a couple letters, hit Enter, and the template drops in exactly where your cursor is — clean, no doc formatting.
No tab-switching, no copy-paste, no formatting cleanup. It's the difference between sending 20 messages an hour and 60.
It's local-first and private: your templates live on your device, and the extension only inserts the text you choose — it never reads or sends your messages, and it never automates sending. You still write and send every message yourself.
It works in messages, InMail, notes and comments
Because the extension inserts into any editable field on LinkedIn, the same library works everywhere you type:
- Direct messages — your day-to-day outreach and replies.
- InMail — same picker, same templates, in the InMail composer.
- Connection-request notes — drop a tailored 280-character opener without retyping.
- Comments — for the "great post, here's my take" replies you leave to stay visible.
Personalize at scale with variables
This is what makes templated outreach not feel templated. Instead of static text, your saved replies use placeholders like {first_name} and {company}, and you fill them inline as you insert. The boring 80% is automated; the personal bits are yours.
So a single connection note —
✍️"Hi {first_name}, loved what {company} is doing in this space — would be great to connect."
— becomes a personalized message in two keystrokes, every time, with zero "Hi {first_name}" accidents.
Get saved replies on LinkedIn
Insert any template into LinkedIn messages, InMail and comments with one keystroke. Free, local-first, no account.
Add to Chrome — Free8 LinkedIn templates to start with
A starter library for the messages you send on a loop. Hover a line and hit Copy, then save it as a template.
- Connection note (cold) — "Hi {first_name}, came across your work at {company} and would love to connect."
- Connection note (warm) — "Hi {first_name}, we both know {mutual} — thought it'd be great to connect here too."
- Recruiter intro — "Hi {first_name}, I'm hiring for a role that looks like a strong fit for your background. Open to a quick chat?"
- Sales first touch — "Hi {first_name}, noticed {company} is scaling its team — we help with exactly that. Worth 15 minutes?"
- Follow-up nudge — "Hi {first_name}, circling back on my note — happy to share more whenever it's useful."
- Thanks for connecting — "Thanks for connecting, {first_name}! What are you focused on at {company} right now?"
- Polite decline — "Appreciate you reaching out, {first_name} — not the right time for us, but let's stay in touch."
- Comment opener — "Great point, {first_name} — in my experience this comes down to…"
3 rules so it never reads like a bot
- Lead with one true detail. A real reference to their work or {company} in the first line beats any clever opener.
- Keep it short. On LinkedIn, two tight sentences out-perform a paragraph every time.
- Never automate the send. Tools that auto-message get accounts restricted — and they read as spam. Insert fast, but send like a human.
FAQ
Does LinkedIn have message templates?
Not in regular messaging. LinkedIn Recruiter has saved templates, but standard LinkedIn has none — which is why people copy-paste from a doc. A keyboard-first extension adds saved replies to ordinary messages, InMail and comments.
How do I save a canned response on LinkedIn?
Install Canned Responses, save your reply once, then click into any LinkedIn message box and use your shortcut to drop it in at your cursor. Add variables like {first_name} that fill in as you insert.
Can I use templates in InMail and comments?
Yes — it inserts at your cursor in any editable field on linkedin.com, so the same templates work in messages, InMail, connection notes and comments.
Is it against LinkedIn's rules?
No. You insert text yourself and send each message manually — that's the same as typing, just faster. What LinkedIn restricts is automation that sends for you, which this never does.