LINKEDIN PAID MESSAGING

LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging campaigns for B2B

FIG. 01 / MESSAGE

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ReplyLead plans and manages B2B Message Ads and Conversation Ads, from audience and sender setup through campaign build, launch and reporting. LinkedIn's product page describes 2 formats.

Reach selected professional audiences inside LinkedIn Messaging through paid campaigns managed in LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

Model your campaign Book a campaign review

By Mark Glazer / Mark Glazer on LinkedIn / Updated 26 September 2026

The ReplyLead mark, drawn hollow. Drag or swipe to turn it. Message Ads keep this mark. Conversation Ads switch to a wire wave.

2formats on LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging page: Message Ads and Conversation Ads

1sender, an individual who is the face of the brand, from that same page

What LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging is

LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging sends a paid message into LinkedIn Messaging. On the product page checked 26 September 2026, LinkedIn describes a direct message to people in the audience, and an interactive message when the campaign uses more than one path. The same page says an interactive message can point to an event registration, a product trial, or an explanation of the product. It names Lead Gen Forms and automated calls to action as ways to send a person to a site or collect a lead. The campaign is measured in Campaign Manager.

This is not an organic connection request and not a follow-up written after someone accepts. Organic outreach lives on the B2B LinkedIn outreach service page. The two are not one funnel. A connection-request count is not evidence for a paid message.

Message Ads versus Conversation Ads

LinkedIn's product page, checked 26 September 2026, separates the formats by how many actions the message contains. A Message Ad campaign sends a message with a single action. A Conversation Ad campaign uses multiple actions, and the reader chooses a path. LinkedIn also says a Conversation Ad can show which action was clicked.

Message Ads. One message with a single action. A single path.

Message Ads

One message and one custom button. LinkedIn's product page says a Message Ad can be paired with a Lead Gen Form.

Conversation Ads

Interactive messages with multiple selectable paths. LinkedIn's product page says those buttons can open a Lead Gen Form or a landing page.

How LinkedIn says to choose

Pick the sender first. The sender is an individual and the face of the brand. One call to action is a Message Ad. More than one call to action is a Conversation Ad.

LinkedIn names three objectives: brand awareness, demand generation, and lead nurturing. Examples on that page are an ebook, a product demo, and an event invitation.

Format demonstration

Messaging

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Hi {{FirstName}}, we built a calculator that shows how audience size, cost per send and conversion rates affect the cost of a qualified LinkedIn lead. You can change every assumption yourself.

Model the campaign

This is a format demonstration of the member view, using Mark Glazer so the sender line is readable. LinkedIn adds the Not interested button automatically. On a Message Ad it sits beside the one custom button. On a Conversation Ad intro it counts as one of up to five buttons. Message ad specifications and conversation ad specifications, checked 26 September 2026, set the character limits. A Message Ad can be paired with a Lead Gen Form, and a Conversation Ad button can open a Lead Gen Form or a landing page.

Message Ad and Conversation Ad specifications, from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, checked 26 September 2026.
Part	Message Ad	Conversation Ad
Where it appears	LinkedIn Messaging, on desktop and mobile, when the member is active on LinkedIn.	LinkedIn Messaging, on desktop and mobile, when the member is active on LinkedIn.
How LinkedIn charges	Cost per send. LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging help, checked 26 September 2026, does not print a dollar amount.
Sender	An individual selected in Campaign Manager.	An individual selected in Campaign Manager.
Subject	Up to 60 characters. The final length can be shorter on screen.	Optional, up to 60 characters. If it is empty, the first message is the inbox preview.
Message	Up to 1,500 characters.	The intro and each later message, up to 8,000 characters each.
Buttons	One custom button, up to 20 characters, plus Not interested. Not interested is required and lets the member delete or archive the ad.	Up to 5 buttons per message and 50 in the conversation. Each button is up to 25 characters. Not interested is required on the intro and counts as one of the five.
Banner	Optional. 300 by 250 pixels, desktop only. JPG, non-animated GIF, or PNG. 2 MB maximum.	Optional. 300 by 250 pixels, desktop only. JPG or PNG. 2 MB maximum.
Where a button can go	LinkedIn's product page says a Message Ad can be paired with a Lead Gen Form.	LinkedIn's product page says a button can open a Lead Gen Form or a landing page.
EEA and Switzerland	Message ad specifications and conversation ad specifications say only members who opted in receive these ads.

Pick a picture. Each one shows what the person sees.

One note, one button. LinkedIn calls this a Message Ad.

You get one note in your LinkedIn inbox, and one button, plus Not interested. LinkedIn calls that a Message Ad. Book a meeting to plan it. The sales call stays with your team.

A note with choices is a Conversation Ad. A button can open a short form, one web page, or the next note. LinkedIn calls the form a Lead Gen Form and the web page a landing page. LinkedIn Help, checked 26 September 2026. This is the format difference. It is not a campaign result.

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What a sponsored message on LinkedIn means

A sponsored message is an ad in the Message tab. LinkedIn's ad-types page, checked 26 September 2026, says you can identify it by the word Sponsored in the subject line. A Message Ad is shown to an audience segment the advertiser selected. It is not a note sent to one person the sender picked. A Conversation Ad is also an ad. LinkedIn says the advertiser does not know who receives a Conversation Ad unless the member clicks and fills out a lead generation form. Clicking the sender's name shows the company that paid for the ad and partnered with the sender.

Message Ads and InMail are different products

InMail is a Premium message to a member you are not connected to, and the send uses credits. LinkedIn's InMail help, checked 26 September 2026, says a Basic account can message only members that person is already connected to. LinkedIn's InMail opt-out page says Sponsored Messaging is native advertising in the messaging experience, apart from InMail. This page is about the ad. It is not a guide to InMail credits.

Cost per send

LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging help says ad sets are charged on a cost-per-send basis. That page does not print a dollar amount. LinkedIn also says it controls how often a member can see Sponsored Messaging, so the same member is unlikely to see the ad twice in a short period. LinkedIn does not print the length of that period on the page checked 26 September 2026. When a new message is served, the earlier Sponsored Message moves to Archived Messages. The member can still open it there.

Language and the objective list

If the ad set targets English, the same help page says LinkedIn shows the ad only to members whose profile language is English. LinkedIn says that rule is different from Sponsored Content, where an English target includes members regardless of profile language. To reach more than one language, LinkedIn says to create a separate ad set for each language.

On the same help page, Message Ads can use these Campaign Manager objectives: Website visits, Lead generation, and Website conversions. Conversation Ads can use Brand awareness, Website visits, Lead generation, Website conversions, and Engagement. The product page separately names brand awareness, demand generation, and lead nurturing as the kind of objective used to choose one button or more than one.

What a Sponsored Messaging campaign includes

ReplyLead manages the work below. The client's team runs the sales call.

Campaign strategy
Audience construction
Sender selection and permission
Message architecture
Creative and landing-page coordination
The destination or the lead form
Tracking setup
Campaign Manager setup
Launch and optimization
Reporting

Commercial facts for a Sponsored Messaging campaign. Management pricing is separate from cold-email infrastructure.
Decision	Where it is set
Lead form and landing page	In the workflow. ReplyLead coordinates the landing page and builds the destination or the lead form.
Tracking	In the workflow. Configure tracking before launch.
Lead handoff	A form submission or a reply comes to ReplyLead on the path named in the campaign plan. ReplyLead reviews and qualifies the response, handles the follow-up, and books the meeting. The client's team runs the sales call. A CRM connection is not in this scope.
Campaign Manager account	The campaign plan names the account ReplyLead works in. This page does not assign ownership of that account.
LinkedIn media spend	Paid directly through Campaign Manager. LinkedIn's help page does not print a dollar amount.
Minimum media budget	No minimum is published.
What sets the management price	The scope of audience work, sender setup, message production, Campaign Manager configuration, tracking, optimization, and reporting. The amount is confirmed in the campaign plan. It is separate from cold-email infrastructure and from LinkedIn media spend.
Setup charge	No separate setup charge is published. The campaign plan states whether setup is inside the management price.
Contract length	Named in the campaign plan. No length is published on this page.
Landing-page charge	Landing-page coordination is in the workflow. A separate charge is not published.
Revenue share	The cold-email revenue share is not this price. The campaign plan states whether a share applies to this service.

Organic connection requests, follow-up messages after acceptance, and profile sending caps are not part of this scope. Those belong on the organic outreach page.

Sender permission and account ownership

LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging page, checked 26 September 2026, says to pick a sender first: an individual who is relevant to the audience and who serves as the face of the brand. The format demonstration uses Mark Glazer so the layout has a name. A live campaign uses the individual selected in Campaign Manager, after that person grants permission.

Audience targeting

A Sponsored Messaging audience is built in Campaign Manager. The checks a brief can use are industry, company size, job function, seniority, and geography. Matched Audiences and exclusion lists are available in Campaign Manager when the account uses them. LinkedIn's message-ad specifications and conversation-ad specifications, checked 26 September 2026, say that in the European Economic Area and Switzerland only members who opted in receive these ads.

Campaign workflow

Define the audience and the objective.
Select Message Ads or Conversation Ads.
Confirm the sender and the permission.
Write the campaign.
Build the destination or the lead form.
Configure tracking.
Launch.
Review performance against the metrics in the next section.
Optimize or stop.

Measurement

LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging metrics page, checked 26 September 2026, says the measurement change went into effect in July 2024. Sends no longer count towards impressions. Opens no longer count towards clicks. Impressions, clicks, and related metrics such as CPM and CPC from Sponsored Messaging ad sets after July 2024 are no longer reported. Sends and opens remain available. Historical data from ad sets before July 2024 are not affected. Average CPC is no longer reported for ad sets after that date.

Sponsored Messaging metrics in Campaign Manager, from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help, checked 26 September 2026.
LinkedIn metric	Definition
Sends	The number of times the Sponsored Messaging ad was delivered.
Opens	The number of times the Sponsored Messaging ad was first opened.
Sponsored Messaging clicks	Clicks on a call-to-action button, body hyperlinks, and the desktop banner.
Button clicks	Clicks on the call-to-action button.
Banner clicks	Clicks on the 300 by 250 banner.
Link clicks	Clicks on hyperlinks in the message body.
Open rate	Opens divided by sends.
Click-to-open rate	Clicks divided by opens. LinkedIn calls this Click to Open Rate.
Cost per send	Spend divided by sends. LinkedIn also describes sends as the number of times the ad was displayed.
Cost per open	Spend divided by opens.

LinkedIn's product page also says Campaign Manager reports engagement metrics and demographic reporting. For Conversation Ads, click reporting shows how many people click each button and how far they go in the conversation. The Sponsored Messaging help names a Flowchart option in the Ads tab for comparing button clicks on each path.

LinkedIn-reported creative findings

LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging tips, checked 26 September 2026, say Message Ad body text under 500 characters drives a 46% higher click-through rate on average, and that adding hyperlinks lifts click-through rate by 21%. That page does not publish the sample or the method behind those figures. They are LinkedIn's creative findings, not a ReplyLead forecast.

Evidence status

ReplyLead has not yet published results from a paid Sponsored Messaging campaign. Until that evidence exists, this page uses LinkedIn's official product documentation and does not present organic outreach activity as paid-media proof. The examples on this page demonstrate campaign structure, not client performance.

Pricing

LinkedIn charges Sponsored Messaging ad sets on a cost-per-send basis. The help page, checked 26 September 2026, does not print a dollar amount. LinkedIn media spend is paid directly through Campaign Manager.

Sponsored Messaging management is scoped separately from ReplyLead's cold-email infrastructure. Management pricing is confirmed in the campaign plan. The sales call, closing, and the organic connection-request service stay outside this scope.

Plan a Sponsored Messaging campaign

Bring the audience, the single path or the set of paths, the geography, and the name of the person who would be the sender. If the work you want is connection requests to named buyers, use the organic outreach page instead.

Model your campaign Book a campaign review

How this page is sourced

Checked 26 September 2026. Format names, the individual sender, Lead Gen Forms, landing pages, the three objectives, and Campaign Manager reporting are read from LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging product page. The one-button versus many-button difference, and the recommendation to test both formats, are read from LinkedIn's difference page. Cost per send, the frequency control, Archived Messages, language targeting, the Campaign Manager objective lists, and the Flowchart report are read from LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging help. The July 2024 change and the metric definitions are read from LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging metrics page. The Sponsored label, the audience-segment rule, and the lead-form exception are read from LinkedIn's ad-types page. The InMail distinction is read from LinkedIn's InMail help and its InMail opt-out page. Character limits, the required Not interested button, the 300 by 250 banner, and where the ad appears are read from LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Help for message ads and conversation ads. The 46% and 21% creative figures are read from LinkedIn's Sponsored Messaging tips page, which does not publish the sample or the method. The planner uses only numbers typed on this page. Management pricing is confirmed in the campaign plan. The pricing page describes cold-email infrastructure and is not the Sponsored Messaging price.

When Sponsored Messaging fits

Buyers can be defined with LinkedIn's professional targeting.
The message is specific enough to justify a paid inbox placement.
There is one clear action, or a useful set of conversation paths.
The contract value can support paid acquisition.
Your team is ready to run the sales call after a qualified meeting is booked.

When this page does not apply

It does not apply if you want connection requests from a profile. That is the organic outreach page. It does not apply if you want an InMail to one person you are not connected to. That send uses Premium credits, and it is not a Sponsored Messaging ad set. It does not apply if you want ReplyLead to run the sales call.

ReplyLead runs cold email and LinkedIn as one managed outbound service. Sponsored Messaging is a third, paid placement. It is counted apart from both.

Sources

LinkedIn Sponsored Messaging - two formats, an individual sender, Lead Gen Forms, landing pages, brand awareness, demand generation, lead nurturing, and Campaign Manager engagement, demographic, and click reporting. Checked 26 September 2026.
Message ads advertising specifications - subject up to 60 characters, message up to 1,500 characters, one custom button up to 20 characters, required Not interested button, optional 300 by 250 desktop banner, and the European Economic Area and Switzerland opt-in rule. Checked 26 September 2026.
Conversation ads advertising specifications - optional subject up to 60 characters, intro and later messages up to 8,000 characters, up to five buttons per message and 50 per conversation, Not interested required on the intro, and the same European Economic Area and Switzerland opt-in rule. Checked 26 September 2026.
Difference between message ads and conversation ads - one call-to-action button versus more than one, including a landing page, a Lead Gen Form, or the next message. LinkedIn recommends testing both. Checked 26 September 2026.
Sponsored Messaging ads - cost per send, frequency control, Archived Messages, English profile-language targeting, Campaign Manager objectives, and the Flowchart report. Checked 26 September 2026.
Sponsored Messaging metrics in Campaign Manager - July 2024 change: sends and opens no longer count towards impressions and clicks, and the definitions of sends, opens, clicks, open rate, click-to-open rate, cost per send, and cost per open. Checked 26 September 2026.
Sponsored Messaging tips - Message Ad body text under 500 characters and a 46% higher click-through rate on average, and hyperlinks with a 21% lift. The page does not publish the sample or the method. Checked 26 September 2026.
Ad types in LinkedIn Ads - the Sponsored label, an audience segment rather than one chosen person, and the lead-form exception on Conversation Ads. Checked 26 September 2026.
InMail Messages - Premium messages to a member you are not connected to, using credits. Checked 26 September 2026.
Opt out of receiving InMail messages - Sponsored Messaging is native advertising in the messaging experience, apart from InMail. Checked 26 September 2026.
Organic outreach page - connection requests are not proof for this page.
ReplyLead pricing - cold-email infrastructure. Not the Sponsored Messaging management price. Checked 26 September 2026.
How ReplyLead works - sales calls stay with the client. Checked 26 September 2026.
Mark Glazer - author.