I did think cold email wasn’t the best example, as that tactic is overused. Though if it is extremely well targeted and personal it could make sense.

However, one thing people don’t do often enough is follow up when the other person has expressed interest. This kind of followup is usually welcome, as inertia and distraction lead to things not happening. This is especially true in commercial context. Eg someone may express strong interest in buying, get busy, drift off, then enthusiastically buy when you ping them a bit later.

Agreed, I'll treat any followup where I've actually responded in any way like the person sending it is a real human with feelings.

I think it depends on the content.

I gave advice to many people who cold emailed me.

But in my personal experience, most cold emails I wrote wouldn't lead to much, because my inquiries were too specific.