TL;DR - People who deserve your time/effort are willing to prove it...quickly.
My admittedly unsolicited advice is to limit two things: the people you talk to and the time/effort you put into each person.
Many verified people don't give unverified people the time of day. I'm not sure if I agree with such a blanket approach, but I certainly understand it. If I have a way to quickly determine whether someone is who they say they are, then I might be more allowing.
That 'quickly' thing brings me to my other point. People who want to meet will make it known. They don't beat around the bush or comment/message endlessly. They don't talk about "taking their time" or "easing into it" or "getting comfortable". Of all the women I've met in the lifestyle online, I've shared more than 10 messages with one of them. Everyone else - including my current partner - got right to business.
That old saying "he who hesitates is lost"...if they hesitate, lose them. Don't put real effort, time, or emotion into anyone until/unless they deserve it - and that shouldn't be until after a meet anyway. If you're talk to them enough to feel any emotion, you've probably talked to them for too long. There are too many options online to entertain anyone that's not racing to the front of the line with their actions. If they're not talking time and place within a week, drop them. People who want to meet will talk about meeting.
Flakes, though...whew. A verified person told me she wanted to see me after I told her about wasting my time on an unverified person. I was 10 minutes away from getting my plane ticket and she ghosted. Spider sense said to not buy the ticket. Good thing I listened. I asked her about it and she laughed it off. That experience - and oddly enough, the one with the one woman I shared more than 10 messages with - were the only flake experiences I had. She flaked on me five times (we finally got together the sixth time, and let me just say I'd have had to replace my seats if they weren't leather). Only thing I can say re: flakes is to have a backup plan ready. It doesn't have to be fun-related, of course...but have a Plan B.
People who want to get down to business...will simply get down to business.