LinkedIn isn’t just for scrolling and sending connection requests; it’s one of the best places to connect with industry peers, clients, partners, or potential employers. But what happens after you’ve made those connections?
If you’ve spent time building your network on the platform, you might want to take your LinkedIn connections a step further. One simple way to do that is by downloading your contacts. Why? Because it puts YOU in charge of your network. You’ll have more control, stay organized, and stay in touch with important people on your terms, not just LinkedIn’s.
This guide will show you how to do it, step-by-step. We’ll walk you through LinkedIn’s built-in method (it’s handy, but has its limits). Then we’ll introduce you to Botdog, a faster, smarter alternative that gives you more flexibility and saves you tons of time.
Using LinkedIn’s Built-In Method to Download LinkedIn Contacts
Follow these simple steps to download your LinkedIn contacts directly from the platform:
- Open the ‘Me’ drop-down menu
- Go to Settings & Privacy
- Click on Data Privacy
4. In the How LinkedIn uses your data section, select Get a copy of your data.
5. Choose the option Download larger data archive, including connections, verifications, contacts, account history, and information we infer about you based on your profile activity.
(Note: LinkedIn used to provide an option to download just your connections. This option is no longer available. Now, you can only extract your downloads as part of a larger data archive.)
6. Click the Request Archive button
LinkedIn will email you steps to download your data. Your full archive will be ready to download within 24 hours.
7. Download your data
When your LinkedIn data is ready, you’ll get an email confirmation with a link to follow (there will also be a ‘Download available' notification in your LinkedIn account settings. Click, and your entire LinkedIn archive will be instantly available in your downloads folder.
How to Download LinkedIn Contacts to CSV with Botdog
Downloading LinkedIn contacts seems fairly simple, but why wait 24 hours just to sift through a jumble of different data? Botdog offers a way to turn LinkedIn data into actionable CSV files in no time.
Here’s how:
- Log in to your Botdog account
Go to Botdog’s website and log into your account.
- Navigate to Campaigns
Once logged in, open the Campaigns section and select the campaign from which you want to export contacts.
- Export your contacts
Click Manage Campaign and select Export.
That's it! Your LinkedIn contacts are ready to go in minutes (or even seconds!).
Unlike LinkedIn’s approach, which buries data in a larger data archive, Botdog delivers clean, structured files you can use right away. It pulls data from searches, connections, Sales Navigator, employees, event attendees, and more. You’ll get a well-organized CSV for your CRM or outreach campaigns with no extra steps needed.
Why choose Botdog over LinkedIn’s built-in method?
- No waiting: Get your data instantly instead of waiting up to 24 hours.
- More data: Extract key details like names, titles, and companies formatted for your CRM or email campaigns.
- Automation: Schedule regular exports and receive updates when new contacts are ready.
- No limits: Export data from any LinkedIn page, including Sales Navigator leads, company employees, event attendees, and more.
How Can You Use Your Downloaded LinkedIn Contacts?
Once you've downloaded your LinkedIn contacts, it’s time to put them to work. Here are five actionable ways to make the most of your connections.
Stay on Top of Your Connections
Managing your LinkedIn connections can get messy fast. It’s hard to keep track of follow-ups and remember when you last reached out. As your network grows, using Google Sheets for contact management becomes a chore with endless manual data entry and no easy way to import LinkedIn info. Downloading your LinkedIn contacts makes it easy to organize your network stay on top of your most important connections.
Turn Your LinkedIn Contacts Into Targeted Outreach
Downloading LinkedIn contacts can help you target your audience with precision. For B2B companies or niche businesses, LinkedIn connections often provide higher-quality leads than other platforms.
Personalization gets easier too. Once your contacts are in a spreadsheet, you can filter by job title, industry, or location. This makes targeted outreach simple and effective when pursuing new prospects and opportunities.
Find Hidden Insights in Your Network Data
Exporting your LinkedIn connection gives you a clear dataset to work with. Use tools like spreadsheets or data visualization to spot trends, like the industries or roles most common in your network. It’s an easy way to find insights you’d miss by just scrolling through LinkedIn.
Keep Your Connections Close, Even Offline
Backing up your LinkedIn contacts ensures you have a local copy of your connections if something happens to your account. It also gives you offline access to your network when traveling or dealing with spotty internet. Need to share contacts with your team or move them to a new device? A downloaded file makes it easy.
Connect with Your Favorite Tools
You can use your downloaded contacts in CRMs, email software, or LinkedIn automation platforms like Botdog. This keeps your contact info synced, saves time, and helps automate tasks. These contacts can also drive automated sales campaigns. With the right tools, you can connect with leads, follow up, and track results without lifting a finger.
Key Takeaways
LinkedIn is packed with potential, but to truly take advantage of it, you need access to your contacts outside the platform. Here’s a quick recap on how to download and use your LinkedIn contacts effectively:
- Download LinkedIn contacts with LinkedIn’s built-in method: LinkedIn allows you to export your contacts, but only as part of a full data archive. This process takes up to 24 hours and doesn’t provide an easy way to filter or format your list.
- Get instant, structured CSV files with Botdog: Instead of waiting, Botdog lets you extract LinkedIn contacts instantly. It delivers clean, formatted lists ready for your CRM, email campaigns, or sales outreach.
- Put your downloaded contacts to work: Once you have your list, you can segment leads, personalize outreach, and integrate with your favorite marketing tools. Organizing your LinkedIn connections opens new opportunities for sales, networking, and data analysis.
Having the right contacts is just the start. How you use them makes all the difference. Botdog not only helps you export LinkedIn contacts instantly but also automates outreach, follow-ups, and engagement. Try it free today!
