Spam & Anti-Spam on LinkedIn + Examples

LinkedIn has become more than just a social network for professionals. Every day it looks more like the rest of the social networks: sharing your day, growing as a content creator, and uploading vertical videos.

Even so, it remains a professional network, and as such, direct messaging has become another sales channel.

Let's not forget the "comment here to receive X" trend. A trend that became popular on Instagram some time ago and that we have had here for months.

Spam on LinkedIn

Since almost its beginnings, we have tried to open relationships through posting and direct messages, but for over a year now, it has been quite unbearable.

Why Unbearable?

Because, partly thanks to artificial intelligence and advanced automation, it's a constant stream of new connections with no other interest than selling you something—but not selling you something gracefully, personalizing the message, researching the potential client, replying with flair, no.

Empty messages, with the audacity to want to steal 15 minutes of your time to sell you something that, due to lack of prior research, neither serves you nor makes you a potential client in the short or long term.

Analyzing Spam Messages on LinkedIn

Grab your coffee or beer, this is going to take a while.

First example of an automated message, I assume targeting CROs or founders. We are a startup founded by 2 programmers and a vibecoding freak. If we want to make an MVP, Josep or Pau or I can do it alone, playing like a child with lovable.

Hello friend, we are a fully remote company

Hello, it's not clear at all what you do, pleased to connect.

Here's a good example, this is quality spam; it doesn't attack me directly, first it opens a mini conversation, then it tries to sell to me. I am their target, their perfect ICP; I am already using very similar services. When I replied that I already had a personal trainer in 2023 (not anymore :S ), they disappeared. They could have asked me about prices, improved the offer, the service, but no. Now in 2025, they reappear with spam again.

It's not SPAM, they are just inviting me to go to their restaurant for a fee, and to emphasize that it's not SPAM, they give me a free cocktail with the paid invitation. The case of this person or business is more exaggerated. They have been using private chat as a spam newsletter for almost 2 years, sending me their non-spam invitations every so often.

It's not only important to establish a relationship with someone to sell them something, but also to get straight to the point. If I had to dedicate 15-30 minutes to everyone who adds me every week... the day would need to have 40 hours.

No, B2C company, next.

To which I reply:

Anti-Spam

For a few weeks now, I have been replying something similar to all the people who start a conversation with me to sell me something and put zero effort into it:

Since they offer me, in most cases, something meaningless to me or my company, I reply with a 100% personalized and manual message, with a bit of good old SPAM.

The worst part is that, from my humble point of view, they are very bad salespeople. Not one has replied or reacted showing interest in the product. Are they selling me something and yet they don't bother to try our tool, or find out what we actually do? Very bad very bad XD.

My recommendation for future LinkedIn SPAMMERS: start a conversation, personalize your messages, research what the company or person does, otherwise, you will hardly sell anything. You risk having your profile closed after several spam reports, and you only add noise to this society.

Can you sell on LinkedIn? Yes, but put a little more effort into it; the conversion rate will surely be much higher.

To conclude, I recall a LinkedIn post that I featured 1 year ago and it seemed to work for a while: