How to Export LinkedIn Contacts and How to Use Them

Use your LinkedIn connections beyond the platform. 

Export your LinkedIn contacts, keep the relevant ones, and use them to reach your professional goals. 

Learn how to leverage LinkedIn and download your LinkedIn connections, clean the list, and add more data to enrich your contacts.

Why You Should Export Your LinkedIn Contacts

Your LinkedIn connections aren’t going anywhere. So, why should you export them?

• To back up important data. Your contacts should be safe on LinkedIn’s platform. But what happens if there’s a security breach or LinkedIn restricts your account? 
  Export your LinkedIn contacts to have an offline backup of your network and access to your professional network. 
• To build a centralized CRM. LinkedIn members have twice the buying power of the average online audience. You can add your LinkedIn connections to your email outreach tool and promote your product or services effectively. 

You can also segment your leads to identify decision-makers and connections that fit your buyer persona.

How to Export Your LinkedIn Contacts

LinkedIn allows you to download a copy of your contact list, including their names, email addresses (if shared), and other information about your connections that have been made public. 

Here’s how you can export your LinkedIn connections:

1. Click on your profile icon.
2. Go to Settings & Privacy. 
3. In the left pane, click Data privacy.
4. Select Get a copy of your data.
5. Check the Connections option (and other data you want to download from your LinkedIn profile.)
6. Click the Request archive button. 

LinkedIn will send you an email once your connections data becomes available to download. Here are 7 data points you’ll find within:

• First Name
• Last Name
• URL
• Email Address
• Company
• Position
• Date of Connection

Note: LinkedIn only includes your connections’ email addresses if they share them with their 1st-degree connections. 

Bonus Tip: How to Clean and Enrich Your Contacts List

Your contacts list may contain emojis, legal entities, or unnecessary characters. Or it could miss relevant information such as domain names or social media profiles.

To clean it up and enrich your leads, you can use lemlist’s free G-sheet addon. 

It cleans up your LinkedIn connections’ names and finds company domains and relevant social media profiles.

How to Use Your Exported LinkedIn Contacts

1. Build a Leads Database

Create a high-value lead database by exporting your LinkedIn contacts. You can segment the contacts by job title, industry, company size, or location. 

Then, improve your reply rates by customizing your message for each segment of your leads list. 

2. Update Your Leads List

Constantly update your leads database to ensure information accuracy. 

Your LinkedIn connections might change jobs, switch companies, or update contact information. Make sure your lead database is up-to-date, and keep your outreach relevant by constantly syncing the data. 

3. Add Them to Your Outreach Campaigns

Once your contacts list is updated, add it to your outreach tool. 

Personalize your message to make your outreach message more engaging and relevant. Also, make sure it fits your brand identity. 

Reach your list at the best time by setting up an automated sequence.

A/B split test your message, email subject lines, and CTAs to determine what works best.

Finally, track your campaign’s open rates, click-through rates, and replies. 

Wrapping It Up!

Your LinkedIn contacts are a valuable resource for growing your business. You can access relevant information such as name, job title, email address, and company name. 

When growing your business, regularly download your LinkedIn connections to update the information.