But I Don't Like Spam!

An obnoxious email message hawking porn keeps showing up in my mailbox. The subject is always a different gibberish and the body is done with Java or something so the text in it not really text (not an image either). I've set up a dozen filters but it keeps sneaking through.

And it made me wonder: is there a payoff for un-blockable spam? Can you annoy others into clicking your link, buying your product? Are there people out there who after deleting a 100 of these, look at the 101st and go "hm, maybe this is what I wanted all my life?" It must work or the senders wouldn't bother. Right?
spam |spam|
noun1 ( Spam) trademark a canned meat product made mainly from ham.2 irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients.
verb [ trans. ]send the same message indiscriminately to (large numbers of recipients) on the Internet.
DERIVATIVESspammer noun
ORIGIN 1930s: apparently from sp(iced h)am.
Too often author promo reminds me of spam. You accept someone's friend request and suddenly his/her latest release takes over your newsfeed. I don't want to sound like an asshole—being excited about a new cover, new book, a certain review is normal. I'll like it, share it, etc.  Possibly. However, when it's post after post and day after day, I get grumpy and find a way to remove the author from my newsfeed for good.

Sadly, I understand the desperation behind these tactics. Promo is the bane of every author's existence. No matter if you're a newbie or well established, you have a nagging feeling there are readers out there who'd just love your book, if only they knew about it.
Being an author is a lot like fishing: you throw your book out there and hope someone will bite. The author's role is reactive. Or at least it used to be.  On Goodreads you can take a more active role—you go the right group and friend everyone there. I don't know how others feel about this, but when it's done to me it rubs me the wrong way. I bristle at the idea of becoming someone's fan fodder.
Deep down I suspect going aggressively after reader must have a payoff somewhere. You cast a wide net, you catch fish. It still feels wrong to me.  With a new book coming out in a couple of months I sure wish I knew the secret of perfect promo, the golden road between spam and tofu. Alas, I don't.