Generate and edit a DM draft

Embers drafts a connection note, a direct message, or a public comment from what a lead engaged with. You edit it, copy it, and send it yourself.

Solo and above Updated 4 min read

Embers writes an opening message for a lead from the specific thing that person engaged with, in your tone and voice. You edit it, copy it, and send it yourself from LinkedIn.

Before you start

  • Tell Embers what you sell at Settings, then Content (/settings/content). When those fields are blank, Embers fills them from your ICP, and the draft section asks you to add your profile to the Watchlist or describe your product if there is still nothing to work with. See set your outreach voice and product context.
  • The lead needs at least one signal: an engagement with your posts or comments, an interaction on a watched profile’s content, or a post that matched one of your tracked keywords.

Generate a draft

  1. Open the lead

    Open a lead from the Priority Queue (/priority-queue) or the Leads list (/leads). The draft sits under Suggested opener in the lead panel, and on the lead’s full page.

  2. Pick Connection or Direct message

    Connection writes a short note for a connection request, for someone you are not connected to yet. It is the default. Direct message writes a longer message for someone you are already connected to. Switching type generates nothing until you choose the button.

  3. Add style guidance if you need it

    Open Custom style guidance and type up to 500 characters, for example “keep it under 3 sentences” or “mention our Series A”. It applies to this generation only and does not change your saved settings.

  4. Generate the draft

    Choose Generate note or Generate DM. The Best hook line above the draft shows which signal it anchored on.

  5. Edit, copy, and send it on LinkedIn

    Edit opens the draft in a text box. Copy to clipboard copies it, and the button then turns into View on LinkedIn, which opens the profile in a new tab. Paste and send it yourself.

To draft a public comment instead, open the lead of someone who commented, or whose post matched one of your keywords: Comment sits beside Connection and Direct message, and Generate comment writes a reply to leave on that post or thread. A matched post on Keywords (/keywords) offers Generate comment too. Comments never pitch and never open with a greeting.

What goes into a draft

Embers builds a briefing before it writes:

  • Who you are. Your primary Own profile on the Watchlist, plus the voice profile and sample snippets built from your posts.
  • Who they are. Name, headline, company, location, industry, about, skills, recent roles, and education.
  • Your relationship. How long they have engaged, whether their trend is rising or cooling, their top signals, the ICP match reason, how many colleagues also engage, and an icebreaker when they once worked at your current company.
  • The signal. Their strongest engagements with your content, their own posts for keyword leads, or up to two interactions with a watched profile, referenced by topic rather than by the other profile’s name.
  • What you sell. Product and pain from Settings, then Content, falling back to your ICP.

Each type has its own shape and length:

TypeShapeLength
ConnectionFirst name, one specific hook, a warm reason to connect. No pitch, no meeting request.Under 280 characters. The counter checks it against LinkedIn’s 300 character limit.
Direct messageGreeting with their first name, a hook, a bridge to a real experience of yours, and one genuine question.Aims for 300 to 500 characters, never more than 600.
CommentOne to three sentences that add a thought or a question. No greeting, no product mention.Under 350 characters.

The card also shows the relationship tier: New engager (first seen under 14 days ago), Occasional (under 60 days), Regular (under 180 days), or Long-time.

Drafts, edits, and limits

  • One draft per lead. Embers stores the latest generated draft and shows it the next time anyone opens the lead. Generating a different type or choosing Regenerate replaces it.
  • Edits are not saved. Your edited text lives in the open panel until you close it. The stored draft stays as generated, so copy before you close.
  • 60 generations per hour, per person. The limit is shared with voice profile regeneration and with the write_opener tool when you draft from an AI assistant over MCP.

Troubleshooting

  • The section asks you to add your profile or describe your product. No product context is saved and none could be taken from your ICP. Fill in What do you sell? at Settings, then Content, or add your own profile to the Watchlist with the Own role.
  • “No engagement, competitor, or keyword context found for this lead.” Nothing Embers has stored for this person gives it a hook. Wait for the next scan, or pick a lead with a visible signal.
  • The counter turns red on a connection note. The note is over 300 characters, and the edit dialog will not save it. Trim it, or switch to Direct message if you are already connected.
  • Generation stops working after a busy session. You reached 60 generations in an hour. Wait and try again.
Set your outreach voice Tone, product context, and the voice profile every draft is written in. Work the Priority Queue Find the leads worth drafting for today. Reveal a lead's email and phone Follow up off LinkedIn on a paid plan.

Frequently asked questions

Does Embers send the message for me?
No. Embers never posts, connects, or messages on LinkedIn. It copies the draft to your clipboard and opens the profile. You paste and send it yourself.
Why did my connection note disappear when I generated a DM?
Embers keeps one draft per lead. Generating a new message type replaces the stored draft, so copy the note first if you still want it.
Can teammates generate drafts too?
Yes. Any member of the workspace can generate, edit, and copy drafts. Each person has their own hourly limit of 60 generations.

Was this article helpful?

Outreach Set your outreach voice and product context Solo and above Tell Embers what you sell, who you sell to, and which tone to use, and read the voice profile it learns from your posts so DM drafts sound like you. Leads and scoring Work the Priority Queue Solo and above The Priority Queue lists up to ten leads that need action today, in a fixed order, each with the reason, the signal age, and one suggested next step. Outreach Reveal a lead's email and phone Solo and above Look up a lead's work email and phone on a paid plan, read the source and confidence values, and see which exports and destinations carry them.

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