One of the best things about online dating is that you can forget about luck. You don't have to wait until the right person ''comes along'', badger your friends for blind dates or hope that this time the barstool next to you will be topped with a beautiful prospect instead of an oversized beerbelly. You can sign up, log on and start up with dozens of different people every night. With so many eligible singles to choose from, your lovelife is in your hands.

Of course, that also means that if you're sitting at home by yourself on Saturday evening, you've got no one to blame but yourself.

If you're not getting the leads you need from your dating site membership, there can only be two problems: either you're not sending out enough emails (so get writing!)... or your profile sucks. For most people, the latter is as likely to be true as the former.

Of course, it's not easy to sum up your entire life and personality in a simple form, especially when there are thousands out there just like yours. But although it is possible to put together a profile that reveals the real you, too many online daters head out on the Web with a personal that's either dazzingly dull or a total turnoff.

''Go read ten male and female personal ads and you'll quickly see why we are constantly amazed at what people think is appropriate to mention in their ad - or to leave out for that matter,'' says David Evans, a self-styled 'profile doctor'.

Evans, who says he has read more than 2,500 online personal ads, runs ProfileDoctor.com, a website which provides objective advice to dating site members to help their profile get more results. His editors read through a client's profile and, although they won't rewrite it themselves, offer suggestions on ways to improve their online look. The biggest problem, he says, is lack of imagination.

''People generally makes the same mistakes. They're not specific enough, have terrible photos or say things like, 'You must be honest', 'No liars!' and other phrases that raise red flags as you read along,'' he complains. ''Come on people, be creative!''

Evans has two general recommendations for those who want their profile to stand out from the cybercrowd. First, be specific. ''The key is to paint a broad enough picture of yourself while providing as much detail as possible about your personality, likes and dislikes without sounding like you are reciting a list,'' he says.

''There are a lot of intelligent, attractive, fun single people out there who write things like 'I like to watch movies.' What does that tell me about them? Iíd rather see someone say, 'I don't like watching movies,' at least you learn something useful about them. If you like movies, give examples. Are you into Dumb & Dumber, foreign films, horror or documentaries?''

Similarly, he suggests, while revealing your nitty-gritty on the Web will certainly attract some attention, it's also worth changing your focus once in a while. ''We hear stories all the time of people ignoring emails from interested people, only to respond immediately when the other party changed their profile to something that caught their eye. Using the same picture for six months is a definite no-no.''

Of course, even a great profile will only get you the date. What happens afterwards is entirely down to you.