Cold messages to people in my field, do they work? - 7 months and counting

I sent 7 messages on a professional network and got two replies. Any experience at all would help. I worry about bothering people. What did you ask?

Follow up with a thank-you and a short update. One of my chats led to a referral a month later.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It made the follow-up calls so much easier.