"You are a master craftsman of social media."

Someone sent that to me in an email. I told them I was going to use that quote on my blog someday. Today is that day.

I don't know if I am a master of anything. I do know I have an even 600 invitations in my LinkedIn account. Every single one of them is from someone that I do not know. Every single one of them says this:

"Hi Lance, I'd like to connect with you on LinkedIn."

The stock LinkedIn provided text. The reason why they are sitting there is that I don't know the person or what the person wants. I am sure I am not alone in this behavior.

If you are reaching out to someone you do not know on LinkedIn personalize the message and tell them the purpose for wanting the connection. It will result in a much higher response rate.