A LinkedIn video message works best as a second touch, not a first one. Connect with the right person on LinkedIn first, then send a short, personal video once there is a relationship to build on. That is the order Andy Milligan follows in this live lead generation session, and it is why his videos land with people who recognize his name.
Andy is the founder of MMG Design and the Columbus Marketing Organization, and he records his outreach in public so other marketers can see what the work actually looks like. This session is two and a half hours of video outreach compressed into an 11-minute edit. If you want the full method behind it, start with how to get your first client and then read the complete video prospecting playbook.
Why a LinkedIn video message starts with the connection
Before Andy recorded a single video, he did the groundwork. "I have these 17 companies that are qualified that have been connected with the ICPs on LinkedIn that work at those companies," he says at [1:04]. He spent part of a weekend building that list so the outreach session could start from people who already knew who he was.
That order matters. A video from a stranger asks for attention the sender has not earned yet. A video from someone you accepted as a connection reads like a follow-up to a relationship that already exists.
There is research behind the instinct. In a June 2025 Gartner survey of 632 B2B buyers, 73% said they actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach. A connection first, then a video about their business, is how you stay on the relevant side of that line.
How Andy works through a batch of videos
Andy set himself a target of 50 video messages by Thursday afternoon, about five or six a day, with a penalty from his mastermind group if he missed it. Public accountability is part of the system.
In this session he recorded nine or ten videos in about two and a half hours, which brought his pipeline to 42. "One more full day of this should be enough to get my 50," he says at [4:44].
His setup is simple and repeatable:
- Open every tab first. The prospect's LinkedIn profile, their website, and the recording frame all sit ready before he starts.
- Record, then make a quick edit. He does a fast edit on each video and moves on to the next one.
- Reuse a familiar structure. As he puts it at [6:16], "you tend to say similar things time and time again." A consistent shape keeps each video short and personal without starting from scratch.
- Protect the momentum. "It's so much easier to continue to do that once you have momentum," he says, which is why he works in a long block instead of one video at a time.
The biggest drag is distraction. Andy admits that looking someone up on LinkedIn pulls him into unread messages, and checking an address pulls him into his inbox. Batching the work, and saving replies for later, keeps the session moving.
Choose the channel that actually gets seen
The worry Andy raises after this session is about delivery, not the videos themselves. Some prospects never view the video, and he has had trouble with email specifically. "I've had it happen twice recently where I was emailing with someone and they didn't even get it," he says at [4:44]. He plans to check his email deliverability before sending at higher volume.
This is where a LinkedIn video message earns its place. If you are already connected, LinkedIn messaging is a second route to the same person. According to LinkedIn's Help Center, you can attach a video to a message from desktop, iOS, and Android. Sending your video there, or following up there when an email goes quiet, means one inbox problem does not sink the outreach.
Two cautions keep this working:
- Send by hand. LinkedIn prohibits software and browser extensions that automate activity on its site, including bots that send messages or add contacts. The personal part of a video message is the point, so keep it manual.
- Keep the ask small. A video is a conversation opener. The same rules from Andy's video outreach optimizations apply: lead with something specific about their business and make the next step easy.
Video is also where attention is moving on the platform. LinkedIn reported in May 2025 that video viewing on LinkedIn is up 36% year over year.
Use the same habit before events
Andy applies the connection-first habit beyond cold prospects. Before a conference in Atlanta, he planned to have his assistant work through the guest list on LinkedIn, sending messages and making sure he was connected with attendees ahead of time. "Make sure I'm connected with all of them, which is just the best thing to do when you have a conference," he says at [7:50].
The result is that by the time he meets someone in person, or sends them a video afterward, his name is already familiar. It is the same principle as the outreach session: build the connection, then make the personal touch. For the broader system, see Andy's guide to LinkedIn outreach.
Where the Columbus community fits
Columbus Marketing Organization is a peer community for marketers, freelancers, and service providers in Columbus, Ohio, founded by Andy Milligan. Members share leads, introductions, and job opportunities, including the weekly Columbus Marketing Jobs newsletter.
Andy noted that many of the leads in this session were local. That is the advantage of doing outreach in a city where you also show up in person. A connection made at a Columbus marketing event turns a cold video into a warm one.
The takeaway
A LinkedIn video message is not a shortcut to a client. It is a personal follow-up that works because the connection came first. Build a short list of people you are already connected with, batch your videos in one focused block, send them by hand, and use LinkedIn as a backup channel when email does not land.
If you want to compare notes on what is getting replies, join the Columbus Marketing Organization community on Skool.
I felt good about the quality of the leads. A lot of them were local.
Frequently asked questions
Can you send a video message on LinkedIn?
Yes. LinkedIn's Help Center says you can attach a video to a message from desktop, iOS, and Android. On mobile you can record a new video or pick one from your library. Send it to people you are already connected with, and keep it short and specific to their business.
Should a LinkedIn video message be the first touch?
Usually not. Andy Milligan connects with decision makers at qualified companies first, then sends a personal video once there is a relationship to build on. A video from a stranger asks for attention the sender has not earned, while a video after a connection reads like a natural follow-up.
How many LinkedIn video messages should I send a day?
Pick a number you can sustain. Andy set a target of 50 videos in a week, about five or six a day, and recorded nine or ten in a focused two and a half hour session. Batching the work in one block keeps momentum and makes each video faster to record.
Can I automate LinkedIn video messages?
No. LinkedIn prohibits software and browser extensions that automate activity on its site, including bots that send messages or add contacts. A video message works because it is personal, so record and send each one yourself and keep the request small and easy to answer.
Read the video transcript
Kind: captions Language: en Hey there guys, my name's Andy. I run a solo marketing business that last month did 26K. And this is my daily updates channel where I teach you in public everything that I'm doing and what's working in live time. So, if this is your first time here, the format we usually follow is we'll start with a little bit of live lead genen. Then we'll go into building and strategizing in public where I'll talk about strategic moves, my day-to-day in the business, and things that I'm doing that's working. And then number three, we'll go into updates and growth stats where I'll take you inside my handy little agency tooling where I track all of my YouTube statistics, the platforms, the platforms that I'm trying to grow, YouTube, etc. So, I'm going to get right into it this week. Um, current outreach strategy that I'm focused on at least in the next couple days is going to be our video outreach, making sure that we're maintaining our pipeline there. Um, I have to get to 50 of these by this Thursday at 4. So, that's about five or six per day. So, I thought about I have a good amount of time this afternoon before I head to Atlanta, which is another thing that I'll talk about in the growth stats and building in public strategy. That was kind of a last minute plan operation. So, I am peaked on stress, but that is a good thing because I'm going to leverage that to be more productive, which is just the best mindset that I can possibly have. So, without further ado, I spent a little bit of time this weekend optimizing our pipeline. I have these 17 companies that are qualified that have been connected with the ICPs on LinkedIn that work at those companies, and I just have a great foundation to start from here for doing the outreach. So, without further ado, I'm probably going to transition over live to tell. I have a call here at 11 So, um, I'm going to get through probably hopefully three or four here in that time. We're kicking off a client here at 11:00. Then I'm giving a presentation for a community here at 12. And then I have to get home, drive an hour to my existing house because I'm here in Springfield. And then at 4:30 in the morning tomorrow, I'm going to start the 9-h hour drive to Atlanta so that I can get there by the time my hotel check-in is. So, I'll take you through that in the updates and strategy section here afterwards. But yeah, I'm going to get right into the video outreach. Probably run a time lapse starting right [music] now. [music] Oo. [music] Wow. Wow. [music] Alrighty. What's going on, guys? Just finished uh a little over two and a half hours of outreach. And as you guys probably noticed from the time lapse there, the second half of it, I didn't get my screen share live on Riverside. Super annoying. But hopefully you can still see my verbal defections, the way I was talking to the camera, etc. But the good news is that I can update you on our pipeline here. Something I'm slightly concerned about is I'm not 100% sure like of the ones that don't even get the uh intro. I have 42 in the pipeline now, which means I only need eight more, which is great. One more full day of this should be enough to get my 50 before our mastermind meeting on Thursday, which I need to do or else I face a punishment. But what I am worried about is that the people that don't even view these, I'm a little bit worried about my email deliverability. So, I know there's tools online where you can check your email deliverability to make sure that it's healthy, but I've had it happen twice recently where I was emailing with someone and they didn't even get it. So, I don't know if that's me or if that's a them problem. It doesn't happen that often, but it's definitely something that's worth checking if we're going to be sending significant volumes of these. So, I'm going to check in on that. But, all in all, I felt good about that work. I felt good about the quality of the leads. A lot of them were local. I felt good about my camera and how I how I spoke on camera and things like that. So, yeah, I think I did a good job today. Um, so I'm bullish on that. I want to make sure that I got all the all the videos in here. Yeah, I did. But, um, yeah, 42 in total. I'm at a point where I almost have a big enough data set to provide some like additional insights on. And I just want to make sure that they all Yeah, they all made it in there. So, yeah, that's the outreach for today. Um, you guys can probably notice too as I'm sending outreach, sometimes I get really distracted in terms of like I see a LinkedIn message when I go and look the person up online, I go in my email inbox and I get distracted with an email there. So, it's a little bit unfortunate that stuff is, but I think it's part of the game. And I can obviously do a better job of segmenting that stuff out as well and just staying focused because like I said, I got nine nine or 10 videos done there. And it's so much easier to continue to do that once you have momentum, you know, starting to knock them out one by one. You have all the tabs open. you got the frame going. You did a quick edit on the video, record, get the LinkedIn profile up, get the website up, and you tend to say, you know, similar things time and time again. So, um, all in all, I'm glad that was good work and I'm glad that I did it. So, next up, uh, we're going to talk strategy and insights here. I'm actually going to the Brighter Web Conference here in Atlanta. I'm going to be leaving tomorrow morning and I just got a hotel room this morning. I'm going to be talking to Chris about it further, but I'm actually pretty excited for this. I know a lot of people that are hosting this. Is it going to be a great for great lead genen conference? I don't know 100%. But I do know that a lot of these are good, all these are good people and I'm going to spend some time with Chris and David Feldman and some other larger, you know, enterprise agency owners that would just be good, you know, referral partners and connections. So, as the plan is hanging out with Chris from 4 to 10 tomorrow. Um, and Lefay fam, nice. Um, yeah, I have the check-in at 3 at the hotel tomorrow. I'm probably going to leave around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. tomorrow so that that way I can hit the gym on the way there. And what I'll have Roa do tomorrow morning is send give her the guest list for the conference and just send LinkedIn messages, make sure I'm connected with all of them, which is just the best thing to do when you have a conference. So going to do that. I have two more sales calls this week. What I need to do before the end of the day today is I have a proposal that I need to get out for two big websites. um and checking in with the point of contact there that booked a call with us. So, I need to get that sent to them so that you know I'm going to be triple O out of office the rest of this week. Um there is a conference dinner hanging out with Chris all of tomorrow night and then with David Feldman on 7 7:30 on um Tuesday night then hang out with Chris all morning and then there's a conference before the night of the dinner for the dinner before the night of the conference and then there is the conference from 9:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. And then I have a call the scaling mastermind on Thursday there. So yeah, uh a lot to get done. I also have to get back by early Friday morning for a call with the exact team at 10:00, meeting with AM at the end of this week and getting our next event in place for the Columbus Marketing Organization. So our next marketing leaders launch. I'm going to try and maybe move this back to a Wednesday if possible. But um yeah, all in all, let's now move on to brand stats since we have those tracked. Um go to home base here. Get to rock and roll client tracker brand stats. 30-day running period, main channel, second channel, LinkedIn, marketing jobs, and podcast downloads. Main YouTube channel we are at 4:15 at the same second channel we're at 49. New video uploaded today. Channel hasn't been popping guys. I think some of the longer form videos are where we really start to go deep with the audience. So hopefully longer form videos like these you guys enjoy more of. And also tell me comment below feel free what you guys want to see more of. I think people really do prefer some of the the lead genen stuff that I do and being able to see all that, which I I completely understand as being helpful, but it is it is a switch in productivity cost for me to record the live legion that I do. So, um obviously that is high priority is adding value to you guys. So, noted I will do more of these in the future and like I said, let me know if you have any other preferences for the future, but we did get a couple new subscribers. 49 on the second channel. Good. LinkedIn, we are at 78.25 14 more. Boom. X I'm not even checking that. Newsletter up to 211. Growing [clears throat] nicely. Excited to see that. 10 more. Wow. Good job, Roa. 211. Instagram. Is that even worth checking at this point? Probably not. We have our 1854. Yeah. So, same. And podcast downloads. We can go ahead and check that. I don't want to there creators. Boom. Podcast downloads. We are now at How close are we to 5,000? Probably not that much closer. 4527. Man, it's slow growth. 45 more. We're like inching our way up the hill slowly but surely. Uh yeah, marginal improvement. We've almost doubled our YouTube subscriber count. We continue that trend, doubling every month. We're on a good trajectory, guys. So, if you are watching on YouTube channel, I appreciate you. Feel free to please comment and let me know what other content you guys want to see. Appreciate you guys. See you on the next one.