* Active - use strong, active words. Passive, weak writing has no place in copywriting.

* Use copywriter's 'magic' words - some words have so much power that they regularly appear in headlines. Fourteen common ones are: How to, New, Secret, Save, Get, Free, Bonus, You, Unique, Exclusive, Now, Why, Guaranteed, Risk-free.

* Short, punchy words. Long words with lots of syllables are difficult to scan. Avoid them.

* Empathize with reader - show that you understand and can solve their problem: "Do you despair of ever losing weight? Discover secret of how I beat my yo- yo cycle and lost 42 pounds forever." Know who you are writing for - understand your target audience - and write directly to them.

Write lots of headlines and test for best.

Don't cop out on your headline. Polish it, cherish it and it will be key to success of your web site.

3. Don't just take from Web: give something back. I'm not a starry-eyed idealist who pines for days before Web became commercialized. But I do firmly believe that it's important for any successful site to give something back to cyberspace community. I'm not talking about money here: only effort. This can range from offering a useful service on your site to lending a hand to a newbie who is just starting up his site. If you earn a reputation as someone who's not just a money-grubber who's out to make a quick buck on Web, it'll pay you back in spades for years to come. For one thing, you'll be able to build lasting, trusting, mutually-beneficial relationships with fellow Webmasters (and I regard latter as single most important asset that I've built up in my six years on Web).

4. Don't be a bandwagon jumper. I've constantly been amazed over years at how many Webmasters will embrace latest fad, whether or not it makes sense for their sites. An example is current fad of placing a Flash animation on one's welcome page. While I've seen a number of eye-catching and interesting Flash animations, I have seen very few sites where such content made any sense. Too many Webmasters blindly embrace latest gimmick on Web, simply because they've seen it on many other sites. But fact is, unless your site specifically focuses on Flash, it doesn't make much sense to force your visitors to sit through a Flash intro every time they visit your site. For all high-tech, multimedia potential that cutting-edge Web technology promises for future, vast majority of people on Web still want one thing: information. And they want it as quickly and hassle-free as possible. And fact is, you don't need Java applets or Flash animations or multimedia plug-ins to present information (or, for that matter, to build a successful site).

In summing up, building one's site is an ongoing learning process for any Webmaster. And just as it is important to learn what to do to ensure your success, it's equally vital to learn from your mistakes and to be aware of what NOT to do, if you're going to succeed.