Need advice

I started a speculative fiction podcast at the beginning of the year (title is Coastal Magic.) I read short stories I’ve written. All are set in the same world, and focus on a particular group of characters. Usually I’ll break a story into three or four parts and do one part a week.

I should also explain that I have no idea how to interpret my growth numbers. There are ten regular downloads each week, and the numbers on other episodes are growing slowly. I think part of that is because although each story is understandable on its own, there is also clearly a developing story arc. So people are either deciding not to bother, or starting at the beginning and listening a bit at a time. The first episode now has 48 downloads. Again, I have no idea what that means or whether it’s significant. But I’ve started getting random emails from people who want to congratulate me and add me to their directory. They obviously haven’t listened to the show, because the emails all have lines in them like “congratulations on producing so many episodes, please fill out this form so we know what your podcast is about! Then add us to your email list!”

Guys, I don’t even have an email list yet. I work full time at a very demanding job and until I’ve got a little more practice time under my belt, I can’t manage writing, work and an interesting newsletter all at once (which is why the link to my newsletter - which currently has four subscribers - isn’t on my website yet.) I don’t have a blog. I don’t have a book published. My website has nothing on it but the cover art for the podcast. I am a total nobody.

One email came from this person: https://alexsanfilippo.com/

The latest email came from somebody here: https://www.theend.fyi/

Honestly, I feel a little creeped out. Ten downloads a week is not a whiz-bang number.

Any thoughts? Can somebody who has been through this please tell me what’s going on? What’s the smart move?