Lesson Study #39

The Amazing Diet Secrets of aDesperate Housewife

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— Commentary and Overview —

The Amazing Diet Secretsof a Desperate Housewife

My name is Nancy Pryor. I am 35 years old. I am a housewife andmother of three children. I would like to tell you somethingpersonal about myself.

One day last September I just broke down and started to cry.

Over used now, powerful words like amazing, secrets anddesperate were extremely effective selling tools. In thosemarkets that have not had an over-exposure to them, theyare still effective today. Amazing implies that this productout performs anything else on the market. Secret impliesthat you are getting access to something that others are not.Desperate singles out and identifies the prospect. It’s a wellknown fact that people don’t go looking for a solution to aproblem…don’t take even the time to read and learn aboutit…won’t even consider making a purchase by mail or overthe Internet, unless they are desperate.

This draws you in. Notice the tone? Nancy is just like manywomen, maybe just like you, but….she has a secret to tell.This is suspenseful Alfred Hitchcock like copywriting.

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I couldn't help it. I had reached my breaking point. I felt like Iwas going to have a nervous breakdown.

It happened one Monday morning right after I got o n thebathroom scales to weigh myself. I'd been on a strict diet for nearly2 months. I had gone off the diet over the weekend to give myself abreak and just to live like a normal human being for a couple days.Now the scales said I weighed 180 pounds. I just couldn't believeit! That meant that in one lousy weekend I had more than gainedback every single pound I had lost the last three weeks.

Maybe this doesn't sound like a big deal you, but to me it felt like atragedy.

I had been trying to lose weight the last 5 1/2 years. I had triedliquid protein. I tried fasting. I tried hypnosis. I tried exercise. I triedsauna belts. For a while I even used dangerous diet drugs. As far asdiets go I had tried almost everyone I heard about. TheAtkins diet. The Stillman diet. The grapefruit diet. The women's ski

You’ve seen this before in Halbert’s writing. Gary the greatstory teller…and once he launches into the story and grabsyou he builds upon it step-by-step ending with THE magicsolution.

Social proofing…every single person in the group of individualsthat Gary Halbert is addressing has felt exactly like this. This isconnecting at a very deep level.

Ever tried dieting before? If so then you know the reality ofthe above confession. Talk about discouragement and talkabout agitating the problem as Halbert does so masterfullybelow…

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team diet. Etc. etc. You name it -- I tried it.

The results were always the same. I would struggle and struggleto lose a few pounds and then the very first time I would givemyself a small break the weight would come right back on.

It had happened many times before, but somehow this time itseemed like the last straw. I did know where to turn or what else totry. I was about to give up.

Don't give me wrong. I don't want this to sound like a sob story. I'mnot telling you all this because I want you to feel sorry for me.There's no need for that anyway. My story has a very happy ending.

My story has a happy ending because the very next day I made adiscovery that has changed my entire life. I found an amazingly wayto lose weight that I never dreamed existed.

I'm not going to tell you where I found a secret. However, I will saythis much: I did not get this information from a doctor. I did not getthis information from a diet book. I did not find this information in amagazine. I did not find this information a newspaper. I did not getthis information from any of the so-called "diet experts".

Halbert takes the competition out in one felt swoop…

Ever the one to effect a smooth transition, here Halbertprogresses the story plot from conflict to resolution. It’slogical and moves along quite naturally in order to introducethe offer.

Again…making sure that any thought of competing products isannihilated, this is an exclusive product found nowhere else.

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To tell you the truth, I stumbled across this informatio n totally byaccident when I was looking for something else.

But all that doesn't matter. What does matter is that at least

I found an answer. Let me tell you why I think my diet secret

is so fantastic.

Melts fat fast

First of all, this diet works fast. It literally burns off fat by thehour. If you go on this diet in the morning you will lose weightbefore lunch.

You lose weight faster on this diet that if you ran 7 miles every day.You'll be able to measure the difference in your waistline in 24 to 36hours. I think this is the fastest safe diet in the world. If you find adiet that works faster I will buy it from you and gladly pay goodmoney for it.

Statements like this are critical hooks. The mystery lures youin. You want to know what it is that she discovered thatenabled her to come up with a solution to this age oldproblem…and Halbert reels you in.

Transitional statement designed to segue from presenting theproblem and stirring the pot into providing the solution andselling the benefits.

The #1 benefit that anyone who has ever bought into a dietprogram or bought a diet book has sought is INSTANTGRATIFICATION. You want people to notice the new youalmost immediately.

The #2 benefit that people seeking a weight loss fix want is toknow that what they are doing is safe.

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No hunger

I'll tell you a secret. You will never lose weight and keep it off onany diet that leaves you hungry. Hunger is an irresistible force.Sooner or later, will power will always gives into hunger.

This diet brings hunger to a dead full stop. You will never behungry. As a matter of fact, one of the unique features of thisdiet makes it metabolically impossible for you to experiencehunger. To me, it's like heaven.

76% more energy

This diet converts body fat to body fuel. Starting on the fifth daythis diet your energy will began to increase dramatically. It willincrease every day until the 9th day when it begins to level off. Afterthat your energy levels stay about the same. This new energy levelwill probably be about 76% higher than your level is now.

The #3 benefit that people want is that they do not want tofeel hungry. There is no self-sacrifice involved.

The #4 benefit is that you will have renewed energy. Can yousee how Gary is hitting on everything that a person wouldwant or be concerned about?

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Simple and easy

This diet is very simple. It is easy to follow even if you eat inrestaurants all the time. You do not count calories. You do notmeasure portions. The one thing you keep track of is how muchyou lose.

Healthy & Safe

This is not just a weight-loss diet. It's a health diet also. It is safe.It is probably much safer than the way you do right now.

Don't ever take a chance with your health. It's not worth it. Besidesit is not necessary. You can lose weight fast on my diet plus gethealthier every day you stay on it.

No exercise

You do not have to exercise to lose weight with this diet. However,since after the first few days will have a lot more energy willprobably become more active. But you will lose weight very rapidlywhether you become more active or not.

The #5 benefit is that this diet is a no-brainer and far lesscomplicated than other diets all you have to do is check youweight.

The #6 benefit is that you’re health will improve.

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Automatic Weight Loss

Right after you go on the diet you start to lose weight automatically.You don't have to think about it all the time. Since you are neverhungry you would probably forget you're on a diet if you weren'tlosing weight so fast.

As you can tell by now I've come up with something pretty good. Ithink my diet is the best way to lose weight I have ever heardabout. You lose weight very fast and you'll never be hungry. Youwill not have to count calories or measure portions. You can eat outas often as you like. Your health will improve and your energy willincrease. Except for when you weigh yourself you'll probably forgetyou're on a diet.

In short, this diet is fast, safe and simple.

There are four reasons this diet works so well. These fourreasons make this diet different from any other. Here arethose reasons.

Reason #1 -- this diet makes liberal use of a natural food

The #7 benefit is that you are not required to do a lot ofexercises in fact no exercises are required and the diet stillworks!

This is the type of statement that will ring in people’s ears longafter reading it.

This is a concise statement that clarifies everything you havealready said in a simple and straight foreword manner,establishing this as the absolute best diet program in theworld. At this point Gary zero’s in on the obvious questions.

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substance that eliminates hunger. This food substance is widelyused in Europe but almost unheard of in the United States. It looksand tastes exactly like table sugar. You use it the same way. Youcan mix it in your coffee or sprinkle it on cereals or in recipes as asubstitute for table sugar. The substance is perfectly safe.Remember -- it is a food not a drug. It is much better for you thanordinary table sugar because it does not provoke an insulin response.When eaten regularly throughout the day the substance verydramatically reduces hunger. It also has a soothing effect on janglednerves.

Reason #2 – this diet has a different plan of attack. This dietforces you to form a very new habit. This new habit is pleasurableand fun. This habit makes it possible to stay on any diet for lifewithout ever feeling deprived. This new habit makes everythingeasy. It is so simple you will wonder why you never thought of ityourself.

Reason #3 -- this diet contains five delicious foods that may verywell be new to you. I am going to ask you to eat a least one ofthese five foods every day. All of them are what I call natural foodtranquilizers. At exactly the same time these foods are releasing newenergy into your system they also work to release all tension fromyour nerves and muscles and give you an emotional lift. Believe meit is very hard to diet if you're upset and in a bad mood all the time!

Any product that makes claims like this must establish proof.Halbert knows this, so here he begins to clearly lay it all out…

Proof #1 — There are certain substances that you can eatwhich actually suppress hunger.

Proof #2 — This is diet is fun so that it creates new habits thateffect your lifestyle in a positive way..

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Reason #4 – This diet contains yet another unique foodsubstance that releases the natural fat burning power of yoursystem. This substance increases the amount of calories yourbody burns each day thereby allowing you to eat more withoutgaining weight.

A sparkling new body

This diet has been a godsend to me. I have a sparkling new body. Ihave lost 75 pounds. I now weigh 113 pounds and I wear a size 6dress. (I used to wear an 18). I have more energy now than I hadwhen I was a teenager. I'm in better health than I ca n everremember. My friends say I look 15 years younger. I enjoy peace ofmind I have never before experienced. I feel good all the time.Best of all, my husband has fallen in love with me all over again.

Will this amazing little diet work for you? I am sure it will. All I askis that you be open-minded enough to give me a chance to prove iteven though I am an everyday housewife and not diet doctor oranything like that.

Proof #3 — Research has show that there are certain foodsthat are geared toward weight loss and you will learn whatthose 5 best foods are..

Proof #4 — This diet includes a fat burning food substance thatbasically does all the work for you.

The Final Proof — By answering all the questions that aprospective customer would have and interlacing the proofwith additional benefits Halbert has delivered a one – twopunch. After all look at what this incredible diet has done forthis woman.

More social proofing…by reminding the reader that she is ahousewife and not a doctor, Gary turns this perceived flaw intoa real selling point.

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I have written a book that tells you about my secret diet. It is easyto read. It tells you exactly what to do step by step. You can readmy book in one evening. And the very next day to start losingweight so fast you just won't believe it.

No risk

Here's how you can read my book and try my diet without anyfinancial risk at all. Go ahead and order my book by mail. Keep it 30days and read it and check it out. And if you're unhappy with it,send it back and I'll return your payment to you quietly withoutquestion.

If you're extra skeptical I suggest you post date your check ormoney order by 30 days. I promise to guarantee I will not depositit for at least that amount of time. And if you decide to return mybook I will send back your uncashed check or money order with noquestions asked.

To order, write your name and address and the words "I secret" ona piece of paper and send it with $10 to me -- Nancy Pryor at[address here]. I will send your book promptly by return mail. If youhave any questions you can call me. My number is XXX -XXXX. Checksand money orders should be made payable to me -- Nancy Pryor.(It is not a good idea to mail cash).

Classic Technique: The 30 Day Hold. If you’ll go back andstudy this ad you’ll see that Halbert never tells what you thediet is he just teases and gives benefits and proof. In thehands of most copywriters this would be a death sentence butin Halbert’s hands and with the use of the 30 Day Hold it canbe a very powerful approach.