Sometimes in our haste to earn more money from whatever we’re selling on the Internet, we forget to do some simple math. Though it is often true that the more you sell, the more you will make – it is not the only way to increase your “bottom line”.

The following are 3 time-and-tested (and sometimes overlooked) ways to quickly and easily double and even triple your income online.

1) CUT your costs and expenses.
Seems obvious enough, but how many people actually are doing this? Heck, big corporations know this and do it regularly.

It’s simple math. The less your costs, the more you get to keep. If you’re pulling $50,000 a year from your online business and have expenses of 20%, then that’s a total of $10,000. Your business actually only made $40,000. However, if you cut your expenses by half, down to 10%, then that’s $5,000 more you get to put in your pockets! Your income just went from $40,000 to $45,000.

Here are some quick and practical ways to lower your Internet related costs and expenses.

a. If you have a web site, get cheaper web hosting. This may not make much of an impact if you only have one web site. However, if you run multiple sites, the costs can add up quickly. Cheaper hosting is money in your pocket.

b. If you do have a site, learn html and update it yourself. Are you still paying someone to do your site updates and maintenance? How much is it costing you? What could you do with the money you would save? Html is not hard to learn all. It’s not a programming language. If your site requires complex programming, then, yes, pay for it. However, if it is just html, you can save a bundle just updating and maintaining it yourself. So, just go to a bookstore and pick up a copy of html 4 dummies. You won’t regret it.

c. Consolidate your phone services (cell phone, house phone, ISP, cable) under one centralized plan. You may also want to consider using a telecom networking marketing company where you can use your own telecommunications services and actually get paid to do so. It can add up to some nice extra cash for using stuff you already use and normally wouldn’t get paid for.

d. Pass up on buying the latest tech gadgets unless they are really critical to the success of your business. You may be hesitant to do this last one, but you can still make money online using a cheap, old computer in the same way you can with a brand new one. I know, because I’ve made over $100k in revenues with just one web site using the same dilapidated computer I bought back in the late 90s!

2) Get FREE Advertising
Though marketing costs can logically be coupled with business expenses, I place this in its own class, as you can’t really put a price on the benefits you get from it.

Everyone in marketing should know that “word-of-mouth” is the most powerful form of advertising. Why? Because it’s free! And since it costs you nothing, your business can only benefit from it. This, of course, is assuming that what’s being advertised about your business is positive; not negative.

Ok, so how can you go about getting free advertising? Here are 3 ways I’ve done so with great success.

a. Provide great customer service. Does this seem surprising? One satisfied customer can go a long way in the form of free advertising. As many as 50% of the customers who visit and make a purchase on just one of my sites are referred by their friends. Why? Because I try to make it a point to keep my customers happy. Happy customers equal FREE advertising for my sites. Does this take time and effort? Yes… and it’s well worth it.

Here’s a quick tip: When someone makes a purchase from you, include in your ‘thank you’ page or their email receipt a note thanking them and asking them to tell their friends about you. I’ve found that this has worked better than those ‘recommend-our-site’ scripts.

b. Participate and post regularly on forums. When doing so, be sure to place your ‘signature’ at the bottom with each post. Your signature should have a link to your web site (if any). The link’s anchor text should also be a keyword that is relevant to your site. I bet you knew this one!

c. Email your friends (no spamming!) the latest and most interesting news, jokes or events that you know they’d like. Encourage them to share it with their online friends. Include a link in the email to your web site in the signature section. The key is to send them something you know they are interested in. This works like a charm. As your email spreads virally in a spam-free way, people will see your link, click on it and visit your site.

The end result of applying these free advertising techniques will be dozens, hundreds, and maybe thousands of visitors to your site that you otherwise would not have had. I’ve given no mathematical figures here, because ‘priceless’ is the only word I can think of for free advertising.

3) BUY for LESS
This one’s especially useful for those folks who buy wholesale and sell at retail, ebayers and anyone else who carries products.

Hey, you’re in this to make the most money you can. That said, why not get your products for less and pocket the savings?

Ok, let’s do some quick math…

If you’re selling items that cost you $10 and you’re selling them for $15 after markup, then that’s a $5 profit for you. However, if you’re able to get those same items for $7 and still sell them for $15, then that’s an $8 profit for you instead! In other words, you just gave yourself a raise of 20%. That’s like getting an extra $20 for every $100 in items you sell. And they’re still the very same items. You just were able to purchase them for less!

Over time this can translate into thousands of extra dollars in your pocket: $100 will become $120; $1,000 will become $1,200; $10,000 will become $12,000 and so on.

Well, that’s it. Those are 3 proven, quick and easy ways to get your profits soaring. There is nothing complex or ingenious about them. Put this practical knowledge to use right away and soon.you will be able to see AND count the extra dollars in your pocket. -- Copyright 2006.

J. Garces Jr. is an Internet entrepreneur and runs several successful online businesses. His sites include AsSeenOnTvMegamall.com, an As Seen On Tv products site, and ExpoBooths.com, where you can find information about the Real Estate Wealth Expo.

(C) 2006. You may reprint this artice provided you include author's information and active links.