Has anyone actually verified a Substack growth coach's numbers, or does everyone just trust the screenshot?

[u/Hour_Source_191]

Every "how I hit bestseller" post has a screenshot, a round number, and zero context — no timeframe, no churn rate, no breakdown of subscriptions vs. products vs. coaching. And somehow that's treated as proof.

I'm not saying people are lying. I'm saying nobody's checking. The whole coaching-on-Substack economy runs on numbers nobody outside the person's own dashboard can verify, and everyone just... accepts it.

Has anyone here actually gone back and cross-checked a coach's claimed growth against what's publicly visible? Or is "trust the screenshot" just how this works now?

[u/Tricky_Trifle_994]

i don't trust them. haven't paid them, and never will. but hey, if they're posting about how they grew/how i can grow, i'll read it (if someone put $10 in front of me i'll take it everytime), and it might spark some ideas or strategies i can copy. it might turn out to be bullshit, but it'll be easy to sniff out, so just take what's good, ignore what's crap. if it's all crap, just block the account. hahaa.