Are cold email and cold calling dead nowadays?

A client approached me for my web design and SMM services and I decided it was the opportunity to finally work for myself. I’m going to need 2 more clients so I can finally have some sense of stability for my business.

While I hope I can get them through networking and recommendations, I am planning to try reaching out via cold email or cold calling. Now, I am not the greatest on sales calls, but emails I can do since I have a lot of time to think about what to write.

But I've heard a lot of marketers and salespeople have been struggling with getting responses from cold emails and calls lately. Is it true? Has anyone else noticed a drop in their effectiveness? What are your current strategies for cold outreach? Do you have to warm up to them first?