Messages that just say "Hi, how are you?"... Do these exchanges often (or ever) lead actual cuddles?
I've had some lead to cuddles.
Yes. But not that often, and it frequently requires skill and effort to bring the genuine but anxious potential client into the fold. And harder still, it takes judegement to figure out which ones might be and which ones never are going to be clients. Experience will help.
But .... mostly they don't. This isn't particularly a cuddling thing, most enquiries to most businesses never come to anything.
New clients often don't know what to write in a first message and the interface for doing it isn't particularly welcoming. I would suggest making a cut/paste template for your reply, with just one or two specific questions for them to reply to. Do not get sucked into a long conversation.
Glance at their profile before sending, on the off chance there is one, so you can add a personal remark which will help make the connection. Use their precise username in your reply.
@CuddleDuncan that all makes a lot of sense. Thank you.