Networking without feeling pushy - what worked for you?

I want to talk to people in a new field but I hate cold messages. There are 11 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. I worry about bothering people.

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

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.