eleonorang Yes, yes, yes! All great and effective tips and I've been using quite a few of them. I try to plan my initial email carefully so I could get a higher chance of reply without the need to follow-up with a "Hey, did you get my email" type of email (because I hate composing them).
That's why I carefully follow any news from my leads (via social media or newsletters) and reach out when they make interesting announcements that might tie well to offering my services). It's tough, though and I still get tons of "No's", but the important thing is not to get discouraged.