I’ve had the same email address for two decades, so I’m on all kinds of lists, and spam arrives more than 100 per hour. If I pay no attention to my spam filter for three days, I have to flush out about 3000 messages. Lessons learned:

1. We must, at some point, trust our spam filter. The labor needed to even glance at the mess exceeds the opportunity cost of that hidden gem that never got noticed.

2. Unless both parties are engaged in a dialog, email will fail. As a one-way medium, it’s an ineffective way to sell.

3. Sermons are deadly. Conversations are golden.

4. The more modest the claim, the higher the cred.

5. If you are findable, people who really need what you offer (product, service, scintillating wit, tango lessons, candidate, membership, answers) will start the dialog.