• Conversation Marketing , Tuesday, September 2, 2008 12:15 PM

"The worst mistake in internet marketing? Making things too complicated. It pumps up costs, slows site launches and keeps you offline when you could be online, selling stuff," says Ian Lurie. And he serves up a list of more than a dozen features your site doesn't need.

First up is a complex content management system (CMS). "A full-featured, enterprise CMS is a great tool when you need it," he says. "But do you need it? If you have a staff of two, you don't. Use Wordpress or Movable Type, instead." The same goes for an inventory management system. If you're not moving huge volumes of product online, Lurie says that there's no need to invest the time and money required to synchronize your offline inventory automatically.

As for the best Web 2.0 tools, avoid a Webcam, skip the avatar- or video-based sales rep, and don't go overboard with finding community content. "Before you spend the time and shell out the cash to add community content, ask yourself: Do you need to build the community yourself?" Lurie says. "Couldn't you use Facebook? Or MySpace? Or something else? Don't reinvent the wheel if you don't need to."

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