Outreach pipeline: your questions answered

How do people move through the Pipeline columns?#

Left to right, mostly by themselves. Approved is where every new person starts. Maya then reads their recent LinkedIn posts: if she finds one they move to Engaging, and if not they wait in Researching. After 10 days in your pipeline your connection request goes and they move to Invited. When they accept, they move to Member.

People you remove sit in a folded Removed column at the far right, where you can restore them.

Do new leads start in Researching?#

No, they start in Approved. Approved means they are new and ready, with nothing done yet. Researching comes after: it means we looked for a recent post of theirs and have not found one yet.

Is the Approved column where my approved comments go?#

No. The Approved column is people, not comments: the first stage for new, qualified leads. Comments you approve go to Queued to send on the Comments page, and then to Sent once they are posted.

Where do new leads come from?#

From four places. People who reacted to posts by the influencers you watch. Members of the LinkedIn groups you add. People who reacted to Recommended posts, which we find by searching LinkedIn every Monday for posts about what your community helps with. And anyone you add yourself with Add target.

Everyone except group members and people you add yourself is checked by Maya first.

Why does a reaction to a post matter so much?#

Because it shows what someone cares about this month, which a job title cannot. Someone who reacted to a post about the problem you solve has told you it is on their mind. So the reaction is what qualifies a person, and their profile is only used to rule them out: someone who does your job, sells what you sell, or lives outside your countries.

Does Maya look for a recent post before connecting?#

Yes, she reads their LinkedIn activity first. She takes their newest post of their own that has some real words in it, not a repost, a bare link or a picture on its own. If she finds one, they move to Engaging and she likes it. If not, they wait in Researching and she looks again after 7 days.

The connection request does not wait for a post, though. After two looks with nothing found, it goes anyway.

Why is someone stuck in Researching?#

We have not found a recent post of theirs with text in it. Plenty of people read LinkedIn without posting. Maya looks again after 7 days, and after two looks the connection request goes anyway, so nobody waits there for ever. The number on their card counts down the days to their request.

When does someone move to Engaging?#

As soon as Maya finds a post of theirs, not when a comment goes out and not when they reply. From then on two things happen: she likes that post from your account a minute or so later, and a comment draft waits for you in Comments.

How long do we engage before the connection request?#

The request runs on a clock: it goes once someone has been in your pipeline for 10 days, counting Researching and Engaging together. Days when you had them paused do not count. Ten days is the standard, and you can change it in Settings, Outreach, under Connection requests. So in that time they get one like from you, and one comment if you approve it. The request does not wait for the comment.

Where do the comment drafts wait, and what do the buttons do?#

In Outreach, Comments, under Pending review. Each one shows the person, their original post with a link to it on LinkedIn, and a suggested reply you can type into.

Regenerate writes a different reply. Approve & queue sends it to Queued to send. Skip for now drops this draft. Skip forever means we never draft a comment for this person again. If a card has no draft yet, Maya writes one when you open it.

When does an approved comment actually go out?#

Usually the next day, around lunchtime UK time, posted from your LinkedIn as you. It waits under Queued to send until then, and you can cancel it there. Once it has gone it moves to Sent, which also shows whether LinkedIn accepted it.

If I do nothing with a draft, does it go out after a while?#

No. A draft you have not approved is never posted, however long it waits. Leaving drafts costs you nothing except the comment not going out, and the person still gets their connection request on time.

The one exception is Comment autopilot in Settings, Outreach. It is off unless you switch it on, it only approves comments that match rules learned from your own decisions, it never touches political or sensitive posts, and even then the comment waits in Queued to send where you can cancel it.

If I skip or cancel a draft, do you find another post instead?#

No, we do not go looking for a different post. Skipping or cancelling stops that one comment, and the person carries on through the pipeline as normal and still gets their connection request when their 10 days are up.

How much of my time does this take?#

A few minutes a day, reading and approving comment drafts. Everything else runs by itself. If you miss a few days, nothing breaks: drafts wait, and nothing is posted without you.

Do people move to Invited as soon as the request is sent?#

Yes, the moment it is sent. That also makes sure nobody is ever sent a second request.

What does the connection request say?#

It carries your connection note: a short message written once from your community description, the same for everyone apart from their first name. You can read it, change it, or ask for a new one under Community, Emails & DMs, Outreach, Connection note. If your LinkedIn account cannot send notes, the request goes without one. More on the note.

What if someone never accepts?#

After 30 days the request is withdrawn. They stay in the Invited column, so you can still see who was asked.

How many connection requests go out a day?#

Four a day in your first week, rising by two a day each week to eight. They only go out inside your working hours, and the pace steps back down if LinkedIn signs you out after a busy spell.

What moves someone to Member?#

Accepting your connection request. We check your new LinkedIn connections once a day, so it can take up to a day to show. It does not depend on the welcome email: that comes after.

Are Members added to the community automatically, or do they join through a link in the email?#

Both, one after the other. When someone accepts, we look up their email on their LinkedIn profile. When we find one, we add them to your contacts and put them into your community automatically. Then they get your welcome email, and its button signs them straight in, with no password and no sign-up form.

So they are members before they click. The click is what makes them Active.

What if you cannot find their email?#

Then we cannot add them to your community yet. They stay in the Member column. For most people who accept, we do find one.

Do they get a LinkedIn message when they accept?#

Not at the moment. You will see a Welcome DM under Emails & DMs, but LinkedIn welcome messages are not being sent yet, so the welcome email does that job.

Can I change the welcome email?#

Yes. Until you write your own, everyone gets a standard welcome we wrote for you. Go to Community, Emails & DMs, Outreach, Welcome email and press Standard. Write your own or press Generate with AI, approve it, and yours goes instead. If lots of people accept at once, the emails go out at up to 25 a day.

Can I approve people from Outreach before they get in?#

Yes. In Community, Settings, change People who arrive from your outreach from Straight in to You approve each one. What that changes, and our advice.

Why does the Pipeline say Member and the dashboard say Joined?#

They are the same people: both mean they accepted your connection request. The dashboard adds one more stage, Active, for people who have clicked into your community.

Can I stop one person without stopping everything?#

Yes. On your Pipeline, click them and press Pause, and nothing happens with them until you press Resume. Their countdown stands still while they are paused. Remove from funnel stops everything for them and moves them to the Removed column, where Restore brings them back. How the board works.

Can I stop all of it?#

Yes. Settings, Outreach, Pause outreach stops everything, and Resume outreach on the amber bar starts it again.

Will this get my LinkedIn account restricted?#

Nobody can promise LinkedIn will never object, so we keep the pace deliberately gentle. Everything runs inside your working hours, one action at a time with gaps between them, and new accounts warm up slowly. Across the whole account we stay under about 110 actions a day and 90 connection requests a week.

What happens if LinkedIn signs me out?#

Outreach pauses until you reconnect, and a red band at the top of Outreach tells you. Nobody is lost while it is paused. How to start it again.

Can I use one LinkedIn account for two communities?#

No. One LinkedIn account runs Outreach for one community. If you need it moved, message us.