There are several ways to get qualified people to join social network groups (such as LinkedIn groups). These techniques range from inviting your existing contacts to join the group to renting lists to broadcast group join invites.

The success at getting qualified members to join your group depends on the interests of your potential members and what you include in the join invite message that you send to them. Using some sample messages for each type of invite can dramatically speed up the number of invites that you send (copy and paste invite message) and improve the percentage of people who join your group.

Social business networks commonly limit messages to relatively short messages (a few hundred characters) so your message must be simple and clear.

Invite from Existing Contact List

People on your existing contact list are likely to be more receptive to your invite message than other candidates (people that you don’t know). It is still important that you identify the key issues that your group covers. You should also mention to them what specific benefits they receive for joining the group (cash payments are not usually necessary). An example of an invite message to an existing contact:

“issue” is important to the success of “industry or service”. To help develop and share solutions for “issue”, I’ve setup a “my group”. Please join and share your solutions (good for the industry and good PR for you).

– “your name”, “your role”

Invite People who Comment on Your Discussions in Another Group

A good way to identify people who have interests that are similar to yours is to join groups that are related to your group topic and post discussions about your topic. When people comment on your discussion, they are likely good candidates to be invited to join your group. An example of an invite message to a topic commenter:

Thank you for commenting on my discussion “discussion title” in “group”. To help develop and share solutions for “issue”, I’ve setup the group “my group”. Please join, learn, and share your solutions (good for the industry and good PR for you).

– “your name”, “your role”

Invite Social Network People who have a Related Interest on a Key Term

You can usually search social network discussions and member lists for key words (such as terms related to your group). Once you have identified people who have commented on or had involvement with that key topic, use this reference information in your invite message. An example of an invite message to a person who has a related interest:

I noticed that you are involved with “issue” from “profile or source of information”. To help develop and share solutions for “issue”, I’ve setup the group “my group”. Please connect with me and join “my group” to learn and share your solutions (good for the industry and good PR for you).

– “your name”, “your role”

Invite People who you have Seen Speak or Published an Article

Search for people who have published an article or spoken at an event. Find something that you can reference in their article so they know your interest is sincere. Use search engines to find articles or links to speaker sessions at trade shows. Search for their name on your social network to see if they are a member. If they are, review their article or speech and send them an invite message. An example of an invite message to

I saw your presentation on “session” at “event”. You gave an excellent discussion on “subject”. Hope you will link with me and join “my group”. Good free publicity,

– “your name”, “your role”

Promote Group on Web Sites and Web Portals

Post links to your group on related web sites and web portals. It can be hard to find the link to post. On LinkedIn you need to go to the group page, select invite, and the link will be at the bottom.

Broadcast Invites to Qualified Groups

It is possible to reach many people who may be qualified for your group by renting a list of qualified prospects and sending them a group invite message. For example, you can rent a list from a magazine or trade show that is related to your group. The percentage of people who actually join may be a small percentage (less than 5%), but using large lists can result in a rapid growth in your social network group.