Today I had a great email. It started: "Hi [firstname]," and then went on to tell me how this product could make me loads of money. I should have thought the first step in making pots of money is to find out basic things like your target's name, and perhaps the second thing would be to make sure the mail-merge works. That's one company that won't be getting my custom, along with all the others whose emails are automatically dumped in my Trash folder.

Other examples of bad pitches, for me anyway:

• Asking to connect with someone on Linkedin by saying that you’d like to help them. I always decline.

• Sending someone a selling pitch as soon as you’ve connected with them on Linkedin. I always disconnect.

• Same as above, but on Twitter. I always unfollow.

If you want to sell someone something, whether it’s a product or an idea, I think you have to at least try to build a relationship with them first.

In any case, I’m pretty sure the Linkedin and Twitter examples I’ve given contravene the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation, because people have to agree to receive marketing communications.

Even if I’m wrong, it’s not exactly a brilliant marketing approach, is it?