Monetizing a historical podcast – Emilcar

Emilio Cano (Emilcar) is a prominent figure in the Spanish-speaking podcasting world. His influence and consistent presence in podcasting for years have earned him a prominent place in the history of this medium.

He is also the author of the book "Podcasting, This Is How I Do It, and This Is How You Can Do It Too," a genuine reference for all those who want to delve into the world of podcasting.

The Beginnings

Emilio Cano, also known as Emilcar, is a renowned podcaster with several historic podcasts such as Emilcar Daily or Emilcar Weekly. Additionally, he is the founder of the podcast network Emilcar FM..

His journey began in the world of blogs when he created the blog Emilcar.es, originally focused on Apple but later evolving towards podcasting.

While many consider him a pioneer in podcasting, Emilio Cano does not see himself as such because other podcasters started before him. Nevertheless, his persistence and dedication to the medium for so many years have earned him recognition as one of the main figures in Spanish podcasting.

Although many think his first podcast was Emilcar Podcast (2007), the truth is that "Arts Música," a podcast about Renaissance music (another of his passions), was created in 2006.

What He's Up to Now

Emilio Cano is the founder and head of the podcast network Emilcar.fm, a platform offering a wide variety of programs for listeners. Emilio participates in several of them, but he doesn't produce them all because, in his own words, "literally life is not enough."

Emilcar Daily (2007) is his most iconic and long-standing podcast. It's a daily podcast about technology and "frankly anything that interests him," as Emilio always mentions in his introduction.

Emilcar's audience has remained very stable in recent years, with a slight upward trend. Each episode receives between 5,000 and 6,000 downloads according to his hosting certified by the IAB.

But besides Emilcar Daily, he also has other podcasts in his lineup, such as:

• "Promo Podcast": a metapodcast published every three months.
• "Colegas": a podcast about the Friends series, aired every three weeks.
• "Estás locos, estos romanos": a monthly podcast where Emilio gathers with three lifelong friends to discuss various topics, laugh, and have a good time.

In the realm of premium paid podcasts, Emilio has:  

• "Emilcar Weekly": a private podcast published weekly covering topics about Apple, productivity, and podcasting. 
• "Emilcar Daily Premium" on Mumbler, A "Emilcar Daily" version without ads and the exclusive chapters for Emilcar Daily Premium subscribers on Mondays and Fridays.

Emilio Cano's podcasts come in a variety of formats, frequencies, and business models. He offers daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and other frequency programs. Additionally, he constantly experiments with monetization models to find new ways to grow his podcasting business. 

If you want to know more about Emilio Cano, you can listen to the interview we did with him on the Mumbler podcast.

His Book

Emilio Cano recently published the book "Podcasting, This Is How I Do It, and This Is How You Can Do It Too" with the Anaya publishing house. It serves as a guide for those without prior knowledge of podcasting who want to delve into this world. 

In his experience, training in this area should be structured and limited to help novice podcasters make decisions. For this reason, the book provides clear and specific guidelines to assist beginners in choosing the "how" and "what" when launching their first podcasting project.

Although Emilio had already written another book on podcasting, blog articles, and scripts for his podcast,he mentions that writing to be read is different from writing to be heard. He expresses that the help of the publisher was invaluable in achieving the tone he desired for the book. 

One aspect he emphasizes in his book is the importance of visual elements in podcasts, as the audience's first contact with a podcast is through the cover and the name. Emilio underscores that investing in a good cover is crucial and recommends seeking professionals to create it if necessary. 

In the book, Emilio also suggests maintaining a clear structure in episodes so that listeners always know where they are in the episode and what to expect next. "A certain familiarity helps the listener feel more comfortable," he states. 

Emilio also highlights that the advice for grabbing attention and retaining listeners nowadays is different from what was given in the past. While interesting content was enough in the past, it is now essential to care for both the external and internal aspects of episodes to avoid any barriers that may discomfort the listener, such as sound quality issues. Emilio believes that, sadly, form is now more critical than ever in current podcasting.

Current Figures

Emilio's revenue is primarily supported by Emilcar Weekly and Emilcar Daily Premium, the two subscription podcasts that contribute 60% of his business revenue. 

The remaining 40% is distributed among advertising in Emilcar Daily (20%); podcasting consultations, courses, and masterclasses that Emilio offers as an expert in the field (15%); and the book (5%). 

In the coming months, Emilio hopes to add new sources of income, such as podcasting courses. Recently, he has reduced his employment contract to have a full day dedicated to his podcasting business.

We are confident that many more interesting initiatives will emerge from this.