Cold messages to people in my field, do they work? - 18 weeks in

I sent 18 messages on a professional network and got two replies. I worry about bothering people. What did you ask?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 14 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

I wrote three short lines: who I am, why them and a small ask for fifteen minutes. About one in four said yes.