Income investing is a great way to pull out a monthly cashflow from the stock market. But many investors who actually use this strategy could be making a lot more in terms of monthly income. Here are 3 very powerful methods which you can use to increase your returns when income investing.

1. Look at the Company

It is tempting to jump in a few just because they happen to be a large dividend to their shareholders. However if the company is not sound and growing there is really not much of a point to doing this.

After all a 11% dividend seems very generous, but if the stock is going to go down 80% during that time period it is still going to be a losing investment.

So why not take the time to only get into great companies which actually have a real future. This way you can win two ways. You can win with the dividends and you can win as the stock appreciates in value.

2. Write Covered Calls

Dividends are not the only way which you can make a cash flow from your stock. You can also make money by selling covered calls. This strategy might be looked at as a little more dangerous because you could be forced to sell the stock, but the risk can be worth the reward in my opinion.

So what is this strategy? When you began on a stock you give another person the right to buy the stock at a certain price on or before a given date.

So if you own a stock which is trading at $73 and sell the $75 call for $5 you make an instant $5 but you are now obligated to sell the stock at $75, and you will remain obligated to do that until the call eventually expires.

This can sometimes work against you if the stock makes a large upward move and you get called out missing some of the potential profits it could have produced. But in my opinion the strategy can definitely be profitable enough to take on that risk. Of course not everyone feels like way so the strategy is not for all investors.

3. Sell Put Options to Get In

If your goal is to make cash flow off of your stock, why not start off the trade by making some money? Every time you sell a put you make money to take on the risk of getting into a stock. So if you are only selling puts on stocks that you would love to own what can be the problem?