Free blueprint, PDF, 6 pages
Follow-up benchmarks: reply rates by step across 17,688 LinkedIn messages
How many people reply to the connection request, and to follow-ups 1, 2 and 3, measured on real ZenMode campaigns. Every rate comes with its n and a 95% confidence interval.
Free. We'll email you the PDF. Questions about the data: hello@zen-mode.io.
What's inside
- Reply rate per step: 4.9% for follow-up 1, 5.7% for follow-up 2 and 4.1% for follow-up 3
- Where replies land: 55% of the 860 prospects who replied did so before any follow-up
- Why follow-up 3 is worth sending: no fade against follow-up 1 for the same sender
- The spread between senders (0% to 28.5%), and how to use a benchmark when yours will differ
How it was put together
13,641 connection requests and 4,047 follow-ups from ZenMode connect campaigns, 8 April to 24 August 2026, with internal and test accounts removed. Replies are attributed to the last message before them, within 30 days. Aggregates only.
The longer write-up is on the blog: LinkedIn Follow Up Message Examples That Actually Get Replies in 2026.
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