Studies suggesting personalized LinkedIn invites are less effective may be flawed. The data likely includes many low-quality, templated messages that are personalized "at scale" or contain an immediate sales pitch, which naturally perform worse than a neutral, note-free request.
LinkedIn's decision to limit and charge for personalized connection requests on its free plan is a strong market signal. It suggests their internal data shows these messages are highly effective for users, justifying their monetization and contradicting studies that favor no message.
Instead of sending a cold connection request, first find a prospect's recent post and leave a thoughtful comment. This "pre-engagement" warms up the interaction, making your subsequent personalized connection request far more likely to be accepted because you are no longer a stranger.
Prospects often accept note-free connection requests because it requires less mental effort. There is no potential sales pitch to analyze, allowing them to make a quick decision based on the profile alone. This bypasses the innate fear of a "bait and switch" that personalized messages can trigger.