Turn Up the Volume — A Down and Dirty Guide to Podcasting

If you spend any time reviewing the listings on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes) or GooglePlay, you’ll quickly discover there are a lot of podcasts out there — thousands of them, in fact — covering a vast variety of subjects. Want to delve into the seamy side of political corruption within an American city? Check out an episode of Gimlet Media’s Crimetown. How about the fundamentals of pig farming? There’s a podcast about it called Swinecast with more than 900 episodes. If there’s a subject out there, there’s probably a podcast about it.

Podcast listenership continues to climb. Edison Research revealed in The Podcast Consumer 2017  report that monthly podcast listenership grew from 21% to 24%  over the last year. That growth has been consistent since Edison began tracking podcast listening in 2008. With the growth in listenership and awareness of podcasts, there is increased demand for new and interesting audio content.

Digital technology has made it easy for the average person or business to produce their own podcast. But most people have zero understanding of what skills it takes to produce good audio content. Turn Up the Volume — A Down and Dirty Guide to Podcasting is aimed at the fledgling podcaster, the person who has a passion for a subject and wants to share it with an audience.

Order Turn Up the Volume — A Down and Dirty Guide to Podcasting.

Each chapter introduces a new topic the beginning podcaster needs to address as he works toward the successful launch of his first episode. Topics include identifying the audience; what equipment is needed to set up a studio; how to record, edit and post an episode online; and how to sustain and grow a podcast.

In writing Turn Up the Volume, Author Michael O’Connell shares not only his own expertise of producing a podcast, but the experiences and advice of more than 60 successful podcasters. They provide insight and offer tips on the planning and production processes for launching a podcast.

As a textbook, Turn Up the Volume offers a step-by-step progression through the planning and production of a podcast. The book includes a history of podcasting, an overview of the industry and resources for educators and students, including exercises, a vocabulary list, bibliography, useful links and technology recommendations. In addition, Turn Up the Volume looks at the challenges a new podcaster will face in creating engaging content and growing an audience. It explores the business aspects of starting a podcast, including legal considerations, marketing options and various monetization strategies.

In total, Turn Up the Volume is not just a how-to book, it’s an examination of the philosophy behind podcasting, from the germ of an idea to long-term sustainment. O’Connell presents the material in a straightforward manner with real-life examples from his own podcasting experience as well as that of the industry experts the interviews.

View all the online educational resources for Turn Up the Volume.

Michael O’Connell

Michael O’Connell has been writing, editing and producing new stories for print and the online environment for more than 35 years. Currently, he’s the senior digital editor at Federal News Radio in Washington, D.C.

For the last five years, he’s been one of the producers and is the host of the It’s All Journalism podcast, which is available for download every Thursday on Apple Podcasts and on the PodcastOne network.

He speaks regularly at journalism conferences about podcasting, and, in June 2017, Routledge Taylor and Francis will release his new textbook, Turn Up the Volume — A Down and Dirty Guide to Podcasting.

This fall O’Connell will put his research to practical use when he teaches a podcasting class in the weekend M.A. program in Journalism and Digital Storytelling at American University.

Email Michael at moconnell207@gmail.com

Follow on Twitter: @frolixmike