“thanks for showing interest” — out-of-office for the optimism economy
acknowledge the eyeballs, amortise the follow-up.
cold open
four words, one velvet shove. paste them at the top of every inbound thread—watch
prospects bask in the compliment while their request slides to Net-Never.
the anatomy of polite deflection
“thanks” — gratitude on autopilot, zero cost.
“for showing” — you looked, therefore you matter.
“interest” — currency you supply, liability we convert (maybe).
subtext: your curiosity just joined the wait-list.
appreciation is free, access is metered.
lead-gen sugar vs. pipeline protein
every “interested” click inflates vanity metrics; every qualified dollar deflates risk.
the phrase sweet-talks the funnel’s top while the gate at the
bottom stays biometric-locked. hope feels inclusive—until the paywall.
74 % – inbound emails that land no further than “thanks for showing interest”
3× – higher open rate on polite stalls vs. direct rejections
48 h – average ghost-lag before curiosity cools
stall-then-sort protocol
auto-reply with the phrase. if the lead follows up twice, qualify;
if they vanish, you saved a demo deck’s worth of cortisol.
we don’t burn bridges.
we slow-toll them.
footnote on interest arbitrage
early enthusiasm is a depreciating asset—bank it as optionality, not obligation.
gratitude buys goodwill; scarcity sells upgrades.
closer
say it once. let dopamine do the follow-up. then decide whether to unlock the door—
or keep the interest accruing in the queue.