How to create LinkedIn message ads and conversation ads

Both are charged per send, and LinkedIn limits how often one member sees Sponsored Messaging, so the same person is unlikely to get your ad twice in a short time. The main differences:

• LinkedIn's conversation ad setup page lists four objectives, while its Sponsored Messaging overview adds engagement. Check which your ad set offers.

Sources: LinkedIn Help: Sponsored Messaging ads, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Message ads advertising specifications, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Conversation ads advertising specifications, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Create conversation ads in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Create message ads in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026

The sender is the LinkedIn member the message appears to come from. They must be your first-degree connection and approve the request. With account manager access on the ad account:

1. Go to your ad account in Campaign Manager.
2. Create or edit a message ad or conversation ad.
3. On the edit page, click Add sender.
4. Search for the person, select them and click Send request.

• The sender approves from the email link or in Campaign Manager. Permission covers the whole ad account, so they can be used for future ad sets too.
• Approved senders get viewer access to the ad set and account.
• A sender can switch permission off at any time: profile picture, then Manage Sponsored Messaging Sender Permissions. Doing so while an ad set is live cancels the ads they send.
• Senders with no profile photo, or a private one, show a grey silhouette.

Sources: LinkedIn Help: Add senders to a Sponsored Messaging ad set, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Accept or reject Sponsored Messaging sender permissions, checked 15 October 2026

You need creative manager access or higher on the ad account. Then:

1. Create an ad set with one of the supported objectives, or edit an existing conversation ad set.
2. On the Ads in this ad set page, click Create new ad.
3. Name the ad, then select a sender. Optionally add a banner and a footer for terms. For lead generation, choose or create a Lead Gen Form.
4. Click Next step and choose a template.
5. Optionally add a subject line, then write the intro message.
6. Add call-to-action buttons. For each, set the button text and the action; at least one button must send people to your website.
7. Add the reply people see after each button, and more buttons if you want further steps. Click View Flowchart to check the whole path.
8. Click Create, then change the ad's status from Draft to Active.

• To see it as members will, use Send test message from the More icon next to the ad.
• Ads are reviewed before they run.

Source: LinkedIn Help: Create conversation ads in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026

With creative manager access or higher:

1. Create an ad set with the website visits, lead generation or website conversions objective.
2. On the Ads in this ad set page, click Create new ad and name it.
3. Select a sender, or click Add sender.
4. In the Message section, enter the subject, message and any footer or terms.
5. Write the call-to-action button text, up to 20 characters, and enter the landing page URL.
6. Optionally upload a banner. For lead generation, attach a Lead Gen Form.
7. Click Create, then change the status from Draft to Active.

• You can add up to three links in the message, with link text up to 70 characters.
• Personalisation macros such as %FIRSTNAME% fall back to generic words, such as LinkedIn Member, if a member has ad personalisation switched off.

Sources: LinkedIn Help: Create message ads in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Message ads advertising specifications, checked 15 October 2026

A few rules change who sees it:

• In the European Economic Area and Switzerland, only members who opted in to Sponsored Messaging receive these ads.
• Targeting English reaches only members whose profile language is English, unlike Sponsored Content. Run separate ad sets for other languages.
• When a member gets a new sponsored message, the previous one moves to their Archived folder.
• Draft with AI only works when the ad set language is English.

Source: LinkedIn Help: Sponsored Messaging ads, checked 15 October 2026

Common problems:

Sources: LinkedIn Help: Create conversation ads in Campaign Manager, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Add senders to a Sponsored Messaging ad set, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Accept or reject Sponsored Messaging sender permissions, checked 15 October 2026; LinkedIn Help: Sponsored Messaging ads, checked 15 October 2026

Zolyp, which publishes this guide, is our own product, so weigh this section with that in mind. Zolyp doesn't run LinkedIn ads or send messages. It writes and schedules organic posts for your profile or company Page, so someone who gets your message ad and looks up the sender or your Page finds recent posts. LinkedIn is one of the 9 platforms it publishes to (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads), and you approve the week before anything goes live. Plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, with a 3-day free trial.