Podcasts are an excellent tool for building your credibility. Podcasts are easy to create and flexible to use. If you're not using them in your information business you are missing out on a powerful, traffic generating tool.

But there are probably a few things you don't know about podcasts.

Here are five things you may not know. Some of them are very old and anyone who is new to podcasts may not know them. Some of them are related to using podcasts and unless you use podcasts you may not know them. And of course, despite the title, some of them you may know. Sorry, but since I don't know what you do know I can't guarantee that you won't know them.

1. The term podcast comes from a contraction of the words iPod and broadcast. An iPod is a type of MP3 player from Apple. Early iPods only played audio. Now of course, video is also available. Podcasting originated with radio broadcasts which were recorded and then posted to a website for downloading. Originally they included information and music broadcasts but with the rise of internet radio, the term podcast has shifted to imply an information broadcast. They also predated the term.

2. Podcasts don't have to be perfect. There are two reasons for this. First, it's a live broadcast. Even the professionals don't get through a full radio broadcast without making mistakes. You will be forgiven. Second, it isn't live. That means you can edit it and make corrections on the editing room floor. Well actually on the computer but the tape ends up on the floor and... No, I am not going to explain what tape is. It's an old way of recording. I'm old. It's old. Don't worry about it! Editing room floor means you can fix it on the computer during the editing process.

3. You can create a podcast by recording a teleseminar and then posting the recording on your website in an MP3 format. What makes it a podcast rather than a recorded teleseminar? A new podcast recording is available on a regular basis a teleseminar can appear whenever you wish to do it. So if you run a regular teleseminar and put it up as a recording -- you're actually podcasting!

4. You can also create a podcast by using the audio track from a video recording. The editor has the ability in most editing programs to pull out the audio track into a separate track. This can then be saved separately. With a small amount of re-editing -- actually repackaging -- you can use this audio track as a podcast.

5. Podcasts make a great product. If you transcribe them they can become the basis for articles for your marketing. If you add audio packaging around them -- and sometimes combine them -- you can sell them as CDs or online products. If you add PowerPoint slides you can use the podcast as the audio track for a video or DVD product.

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