One of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert to potential clients in your niche, besides blogging regularly, is to answer questions on LinkedIn.com. LinkedIn.com has an “answer” area where all the questions asked within various groups, both opened and closed, are listed. Just do a search with your keywords in the answer category.

Choose the questions you want to answer carefully. Pick a question that you truly know the answers to, like you know your own handwriting. If you’re not sure about something skip it and move on to a different question. As a Virtual Assistant, you might answer questions on word processing, time management, email or calendar efficiency, or any any specialty you have like social media, video, databases, etc.

Research your answers to ensure accuracy if you’re not 100% sure about something. It’s okay not to know something but it’s really not okay to post erroneous information. A good example is that recently on a popular work at home message board someone asked about taxes and self employment. She received about 15 to 20 answers, but upon reading them, 99 percent of the answers were wrong.

Craft your response outside of the system in Word or Open Office so that you can check your grammar and spelling. Answering questions on LinkedIn.com needs to be taken more seriously than some forums and discussion boards because it is a professional network. A higher standard is expected on LinkedIn than many other places on the net. Use good grammar, spell correctly, and answer as truthfully and as factually as possible.

Try to spend about 15 minutes per day answering questions on LinkedIn.com. In addition, you can use the system to ask questions that are designed to get participation from group members. You can use questions as a way to help you know what to blog about, write about, and even help you create new information products for your business. The best products are the ones that your clients and potential clients want you to create, and the best services to offer are the ones potential clients talk about needing help with.

Automate some of the process on LinkedIn.com by putting a LinkedIn widget or button your website or blog. Connect your LinkedIn account with Twitter and share your blog posts by including a feed on your main LinkedIn profile.