LinkedIn Groups and event attendees as a lead source: what you can and cannot do

LinkedIn Groups and events give you something rare in cold outreach: a shared, visible reason to write. "We are both in the Procurement Leaders group" or "I saw you at yesterday's webinar" is a better first line than any compliment about a profile. This post explains what LinkedIn says you can do, a method that respects it, and example messages.

What does LinkedIn say about messaging group members?

LinkedIn Help says that you can send a message request to coworkers or Group members you are not already connected with. It also says that LinkedIn has "some set limits for membership, content, and other activities within a group", and that it may limit your ability to send messages to members you are not connected to. A second help page says LinkedIn limits how many messages a member can send in a certain time period, and lists sharing a Group as one of the ways you can send a message request. Attachments cannot be sent in message requests. Both pages were read on 25 October 2026 (messaging and Groups, send messages).

LinkedIn does not publish a number. You will find figures in blog posts, some years old and some contradicting each other. We do not repeat them, because a limit you cannot check is a risk. Plan for small volume and treat any warning from LinkedIn as a reason to slow down. For the wider picture, see LinkedIn terms of service and automation.

Why are groups and events a good source?

Because the reason to write is true and visible to both of you. A cold invitation says "I found your profile". A group or event message says "we were in the same room". That is a different starting point and usually a warmer one.

They also come with a built in topic. People join a group because they care about something, and attend an event for the same reason, so your first line can be about the topic and not about you.

What should you not do?

• Do not scrape member lists. Tools that pull whole membership lists or attendee lists break LinkedIn's rules and put the account at risk. Work with what you can see in the product, in small amounts.
• Do not post an ad in the group. Groups are for conversation. Promotion gets you removed.
• Do not message the whole group. One by one, with a reason for each.
• Do not pretend you attended an event you did not. It is false and easy to spot.

What is a method that works?

1. Pick one group or event. Choose the one closest to your buyer, where people talk about the problem you solve. Join, read for a week and note which topics recur.

2. Take part before you message. A useful answer to a question, a comment on a post by the person you want to write to. This is the same idea as pre invite engagement: be seen doing something useful before you ask for anything.

3. Choose a small list. Ten to twenty people a week, with a real reason for each. Quality of the reason beats quantity of messages.

4. Write a short message that starts with the shared thing. One line about the group or event, one line about why you are writing, one easy question.

5. Follow up once or twice and stop. Add something new each time, and stop when someone says no.

What do the messages look like?

These are made up examples to show the shape. Fill the brackets with something true.

A connection request after a group discussion: "Hi [first name], I saw your comment in [group] on [topic]. I work on [related problem] and found your point about [specific detail] useful. Happy to connect."

A message after they accept: "Thanks for connecting, [first name]. You mentioned [detail] in [group]. We have been looking at [topic] from the [angle] side. Is [specific question] something you deal with at [company]?"

After an event: "Hi [first name], I enjoyed [speaker or session] at [event]. Your question about [topic] stuck with me. If you are looking at [problem], I have a short note on how [company type] handled it. Want me to send it?"

For a webinar you hosted: "Hi [first name], thanks for joining [webinar] yesterday. You asked about [topic]. Here is the slide that answers it: [link]. If it raises something else, tell me and I will be specific."

Notice that none of them mentions a price, a demo or a meeting in the first message. They end with a question that is easy to answer. See the template for a message to a post engager, which follows the same logic. For hosting side, see event and webinar invitations.

How do you keep it within safe limits?

• Low volume. Pace messages as a person would. Sellinger's LinkedIn defaults are 20 invitations a day, varied by a few each day, and 150 a week, with a quiet window of 01:00 to 08:00 account time when no schedule is set. An account can carry its own values, and no tool can guarantee that LinkedIn will never restrict an account.
• Your own account. You connect your own LinkedIn account through a hosted login, and Sellinger does not store your LinkedIn password. You can also connect through your own proxy.
• Approval on the first batch. Run the first twenty messages in approval mode, where every message waits for a person, and read them before you widen.
• Stop on no. An opt out should end the thread, and the contact should not be written to again on any channel.

How do you measure whether it worked?

Count people contacted, accepted, replied, positively replied and met, each with its base. Compare group and event leads against your other sources over four weeks, not days. If group leads reply more, double down on the groups that gave you the most. If they do not, the line you open with may be too generic, or the group too far from your buyer.

For acceptance and reply definitions, see the reply rate calculator and LinkedIn lead generation for the wider lead source picture.

A short checklist

• One group or event, joined and read for a week
• A true reason for every message
• No scraping and no mass posts
• Ten to twenty people a week
• First batch approved by a person
• One or two follow ups, then stop
• Results counted with the base

A shared group is a good reason to say hello. It stops being one the moment the message looks the same for everyone.

How do event attendees differ from group members?

A group is ongoing, so you can take part for weeks before you write. An event is a single moment, so timing matters: write within a few days, while the event is fresh, and refer to something specific that was said or shown. A message two months later reads as a mass mailing.

If you hosted the event, you have a clear reason to write and permission to follow up on what you promised. If you only attended, you are one of many attendees writing to speakers and other guests, so make your message about the topic and keep it very short.

What do you do with the replies?

Answer the question first. If a person says they are interested, offer one next step, such as a short note or a call, and let them choose. If they say they are not the right person, thank them and ask who is. If they say no, stop. Record the result and the group or event, so after a month you can see which sources produced conversations.