One of my pet peeves is when people don’t respond to emails or phone messages. It seems to have become common these days to simply ignore people. If someone has taken the time to contact you, clearly he or she think highly enough of you to reach out for whatever reason. The least you can do is respond.
There’s an old saying “be nice to people on your way up because you’ll nee them on your way down.” I think this applies even if you’re already at the top of your profession. You never know when someone who contacted you when they were on their way up might be in a position to help you or provide some opportunity down the road.
If you’re too busy or uninterested, it only takes a few seconds to send an email reply, even if it’s a simple “Thank you for your email. I’m afraid I’m unable to help you at this time. Good luck.”
If you have the time and are able to respond more substantially, by all means do so! If it’s a fan, your kind response will stick with them for a long time.
Either way, they will always remember whether you ignored them or took the time to respond.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, or add a comment. I promise I’ll respond.