A LinkedIn Cold DM CTA and the Foot-in-the-Door Effect

In this issue you’ll see:

• The simple LinkedIn Cold DM that got the “yes”

• Why micro-conversions should be your outbound team’s favorite technique

• How to start building micro-conversions into your copy now

Let’s dig in.

THE BREAKDOWN

The LinkedIn cold DM that got the “yes.”

Here’s the CTA in question:

Here’s what’s working:

1) It’s conversational. 

The DM was just a few short paragraphs—the entire message was written in a natural, conversational tone. This approach works well in conversational channels, like LinkedIn DMs and, yes, email.

Here are some conversational language markers:

The number of times I receive cold DMs and emails that sound like a robot wrote them is… a lot. Simply sounding like an actual human can make your message stand out.

2) The CTA is a low-effort ask. 

I’m not being asked for my thoughts.

I’m not being asked to sacrifice time to meet.

All I’m being asked for is a super low level of interest.

Note: CTAs for Cold DMs and emails are one of the few places I recommend using closed-ended questions because they’re low-effort for your reader to answer. Remember: the reader doesn’t know you and hasn’t asked you to contact them, you should anticipate that your reader will only be willing to commit to low-effort actions. Which brings me to… 

3) The ask elicits a micro-conversion. 

If I answer yes (which I did), I’m not only giving explicit permission to continue contacting me. I’m also explicitly committing to interest in the outcome that the service or product likely delivers.

(^ This is important for future asks because of the commitment and consistency bias.)

Additionally, the micro-conversion also creates a moment for wrong-fit readers to disqualify themselves—if the outcome isn’t relevant, I’d say no. Add this to the file of “proof that list-offer-copy alignment is the foundation of great copy.”

Here are 2 things I would fine-tune:

1) Lead with “you.” 

This tweak is just about changing the phrasing to lead with “you”—I’d still use a closed-ended question.

The reason for the swap?

Using “you” can help trigger the self-reference effect (see more about why this is important here).

2) Reduce sentence complexity to increase cognitive ease.

The original ask is conversational… but it’s a loooooong ask. It also includes an “and” which introduces interference in your reader’s mind. (Interference is bad for clarity and memorability, which is bad for conversions.)

THE PSYCHOLOGY

It all starts with getting your foot in the door.

Imagine you need help from a coworker to finish a big project… 

If you ask them right outta the gate to spend hours helping you, they might say no. It’s a lot to ask. Instead, you decide to start small:

“Can you review this page for me?”

That’s a quick task, so they agree to help.

And because they responded favorably to you, they’re more likely to say “yes” again. 

This is the “foot-in-the-door” (FITD) effect in a nutshell.

Studies have shown that FITD can help you increase the amount of information someone will disclose. FITD can also help “jailbreak” an LLM. (And, on the flip side, the door-in-the-face technique can also be useful for getting the “yes.”) 

With the LinkedIn DM, the combination of:

1. a conversational tone and

2. a low-effort ask that’s aligned with a desirable outcome

work together to help this sender get their foot in the door.

This is precisely what cold outbound should do.

THE ACTIONABLE TIP

Plan to put your best foot forward.

Here’s the key strategy you should swipe:

Intentionally place micro-conversions in your copy to get your foot in the door. 

If you’re running cold outbound, go check your CTAs now. (I’ll wait.)

Are you using a foot-in-the-door CTA?

If not, give it a try.

You might just pave your way to an easier “yes.”