How to meet someone new through email

I did a presentation recently and people asked me how to meet people through email. They did not know how to find emails and did not want to SPAM the person with a success story. I thought it would be useful to address it here. I am a bigger fan of talking with someone first, but emails are a good way to ping. It is easy to find an email address.

• Read a blog - email usually listed.
• Visit a website with a valuable resource - visit contact page
• Go through old collection of business cards from people you have met once, but do not have a close relationship with.
• If you read about someone in the paper, call their company and ask for their email address.

The best way to approach someone you do not know via email is to make it about them. "I read your blog post and I thought it was brilliant. It tied in so well with what we do here at the Red Monkey Inn where I work. I think my tips will go up once I put your advice into action. Keep up the great blogging."