If you spend hours bouncing between LinkedIn and spreadsheets, trying to keep your outreach organized, you’re not alone. Most salespeople, recruiters, and founders I know are fed up with manual tracking, clunky browser extensions, and tools that break every other week.
This guide is for people who want to actually get more done—not just buy another shiny workflow tool. If you’re looking for a real-world, no-hype walkthrough on connecting Scrab with LinkedIn to automate your outreach (without getting your account flagged), keep reading.
Why bother integrating Scrab with LinkedIn?
Here’s the honest answer: LinkedIn is still the best source of business contacts, but the platform isn’t built for high-volume outreach or tracking who you’ve messaged. Scrab helps automate some of that grind—pulling leads, organizing data, and handling follow-ups—if you set it up right.
What you can do: - Automatically pull LinkedIn profiles into Scrab for tracking - Enrich contact data and add notes so you’re not guessing who’s who - Automate follow-ups or reminders so leads don’t slip through the cracks
What you can’t do (at least not safely): - Blast out hundreds of LinkedIn messages a day (that’s a fast track to getting restricted) - Scrape massive amounts of data without limits (LinkedIn’s TOS is clear here) - Replace human relationship-building with bots
Bottom line: Scrab can save you a ton of time, but only if you work within LinkedIn’s limits and stay organized.
Step 1: Get your Scrab and LinkedIn accounts ready
Before you even think about connecting anything, make sure you’ve got the basics covered:
- A LinkedIn account (ideally, a paid Sales Navigator account if you want more search/filter options, but free works too)
- A Scrab account (set this up here if you haven’t already)
- The Scrab browser extension, usually for Chrome (double-check you’re using the latest version)
- Clean browser—log out of other LinkedIn accounts to avoid crossing wires
Pro tip: Don’t connect Scrab to a brand-new LinkedIn account. LinkedIn watches for automation on fresh profiles and will lock you out fast. Use an established account with real connections and profile activity.
Step 2: Install the Scrab extension and connect your LinkedIn
Time to get Scrab talking to LinkedIn. Here’s the step-by-step:
- Install the Scrab extension
- Go to the Chrome Web Store, search for “Scrab,” and add it to Chrome.
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Pin the extension for easy access.
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Log in to LinkedIn
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Open LinkedIn in a new tab. Make sure you’re logged in to the main account you want to use.
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Open Scrab and connect
- Click the Scrab extension icon.
- You’ll usually see a “Connect to LinkedIn” button or similar. Click it.
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Follow the prompts—Scrab will ask for permission to read certain LinkedIn pages.
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Test the connection
- Refresh LinkedIn. You should see a Scrab panel or widget overlay on LinkedIn profile/search pages.
- If not, restart your browser or check your extension permissions.
What to ignore: Don’t mess with VPNs or “residential proxies” unless you know exactly what you’re doing. That’s how people get flagged. Stick to your normal connection.
Step 3: Pull leads from LinkedIn into Scrab
Here’s where the magic (and a bit of frustration) happens. Scrab’s main job is to capture leads from LinkedIn into its dashboard. Here’s how you do it, and what to watch out for.
A. Manual lead capture
- Browse to a LinkedIn search or list (e.g., “People” > your target market)
- You’ll see Scrab overlays/buttons—usually “Add to Scrab” or similar
- Click to pull selected profiles into your Scrab dashboard
Pros: You control exactly who gets added. Less risk of LinkedIn rate-limiting you.
Cons: Still a bit manual. Tedious for hundreds of leads.
B. Bulk lead capture (careful with this)
Some Scrab plans let you select a whole page of search results and add everyone at once.
- On a LinkedIn search results page, look for a Scrab “Select All” or “Bulk Add” option
- Pick how many profiles per page you want to scrape (keep it low—10-20 at a time is safest)
- Click “Add” and let Scrab do its thing
Warning: Don’t go nuts. LinkedIn starts to rate-limit or throw CAPTCHAs if you scrape too fast or too much. If you see warnings, stop for a while.
What works: - Slow and steady—20-50 leads per day is usually fine for most accounts - Focused lists (use filters to narrow your targets)
What doesn’t: - Trying to pull thousands of leads in one go - Running the extension non-stop for hours
Step 4: Organize and enrich your leads in Scrab
Dumping a pile of profiles into Scrab is pointless unless you actually use the data. Good news: Scrab can help you clean things up.
- Tag your leads: Group by segment, campaign, or whatever makes sense for you.
- Add notes: Log info you can’t see on LinkedIn, like how you found them or what intro you’ll use.
- Enrich data: Scrab can sometimes pull emails, company info, etc., but don’t expect miracles—LinkedIn is locking down more data every year.
- Set reminders: If you want to follow up in a week, set a task or reminder in Scrab.
Pro tip: Don’t get obsessed with perfect data. As long as you have a name, title, and LinkedIn URL, you can work with it.
Step 5: Reach out—without getting your account restricted
Here’s the part everyone wants to automate, but it’s where most people get burned. LinkedIn is very sensitive to mass messaging. Scrab can help you track outreach, but you need to be smart.
A. Manual messaging with Scrab as your tracker
- Use Scrab to remind you who to message, and when
- Copy/paste your templates (with light personalization) directly into LinkedIn
- Mark leads as “contacted” or “replied” in Scrab
Why bother? It’s slower, but you stay under the radar. LinkedIn rarely flags manual, targeted outreach.
B. Semi-automated follow-ups
Some Scrab plans offer automated follow-ups—meaning, you can set reminders or have Scrab nudge you when it’s time to ping someone again.
- Set follow-up intervals (e.g., 3 days after no response)
- Scrab can either remind you, or in some cases, send a message draft for you to review
Caution: Even if Scrab offers “automated messaging,” don’t send more than a handful per day. LinkedIn’s spam filters are brutal, and getting restricted is a nightmare.
What to ignore:
- Any “secret” settings that promise 100+ messages a day
- Chrome extensions or scripts that promise to bypass LinkedIn’s limits
- Copy/paste outreach that looks like spam (you’ll get ignored or blocked)
Step 6: Track replies and update your workflow
Keeping your outreach organized is where Scrab actually shines. Here’s how to keep things tidy:
- Update lead statuses as soon as you get a reply (e.g., “Interested,” “Not now,” “No response”)
- Use Scrab’s dashboard to see who needs a follow-up and who’s gone cold
- Export your data if you want to sync with a CRM or share with your team
Pro tip: Don’t chase every “no” forever. If someone isn’t interested, mark it and move on.
Step 7: Review, adjust, and don’t overcomplicate it
Most people make the mistake of over-engineering their outreach. If your workflow is getting in the way, it’s time to cut back.
- Review your results every week: Are you getting replies? Are you spending more time fiddling with tools than actually talking to people?
- Adjust your outreach volume based on what LinkedIn allows (it’s better to go slow than get banned)
- Iterate: Try new message templates, tweak your targeting, but keep the process simple
Honest pros and cons of the Scrab + LinkedIn combo
What works well: - Easier tracking—no more spreadsheets full of half-baked leads - Reminders and notes keep you from dropping the ball - Saves real time if you stick to a sustainable volume
What doesn’t: - Heavy automation (mass messaging, scraping 1000s of leads) will get you flagged - Data enrichment is hit-or-miss; don’t expect magic emails for every profile - If LinkedIn changes their layout (which they do), browser extensions can break—stay patient
Keep it simple, stay safe, and iterate
If you remember nothing else: focus on outreach quality, not just quantity. Scrab helps you organize and automate the boring parts, but it’s not a silver bullet. Start with a small, manageable workflow, see what works for you, and tweak as you go. Don’t let “automation” get in the way of actually building relationships.
Keep it real, and happy prospecting.