Today marks the day BehindMLM has been covering the MLM industry for five years.

As good a time as any I figured to take a look back at where we’ve come from, what’s happening now and where we’re going.

The MLM Industry

When I started writing at BehindMLM I wasn’t entirely sure where I’d wind up. I was an unknown in the space and pretty much had free rein to cover topic at my leisure.

I still have that freedom, but over the years continued to take on the greater responsibility of covering the industry at large.

The good is typically covered by way of press-release. Companies push them out on the various platform they’ve signed up for and attempt to flood the internet.

I see that as covered ground, and instead try to find a middle-ground (reviews), coupled with behind the scenes news you might not necessarily read elsewhere.

I believe an informed decision trumps all, and you’re only ever going to get that by reading as widely as you possibly can.

As to the industry itself, as BehindMLM’s coverage has expanded, I’ve found myself increasingly dwelling in its underbelly.

Perhaps to the chagrin of those who’d prefer to ignore it, I personally can’t separate the underbelly from the rest of the industry. I wouldn’t be doing justice to the reporting and cataloging of the industry that goes on here.

As evidenced by the hundreds of thousands of people who get scammed each year, ignoring the problem doesn’t work.

So instead I try to shine a flashlight on it, along with readers who help out along the way and my fellow blogs who cover similar topics.

What I’ve noticed over the years is that the life of schemes hatched in the MLM underbelly are noticeably experiencing shorter lifespans.

I don’t take any credit for that, but hopefully the trend of increased regulatory action in the space and general awareness of the public continue.

Trend wise I also see Asia emerging as a problematic area going forward. Regulation in the US has tightened up significantly over the last few years.

If your scam takes off in the US, it’s pretty much guaranteed to be shutdown at some point.

What I’m seeing now though is banking based out of Asia (Hong Kong), with principals running schemes from the US. Except for a few isolated cases, the US is still very much where the money is so this will continue to be of interest to track going forward.

I’m expecting we’ll see increased US regulatory co-operation in Asian jurisdictions over the coming years. That might be public cooperation or quietly on the backend.

As to the more legitimate side of the industry, I’m well aware I need to do more to cover it. This primarily going to be by way of reviews, as I don’t think “top leader joins company X” or “company X makes $yy in profit!” type articles offer any real value to readers.

That’s a more marketing orientated style of content, which I’m not interested in pursuing.

Currently I’m at a crossroads time wise, with keeping up with the MLM underbelly taking up most of my tim

🤖 Quick Answer

What milestone did BehindMLM reach in 2015?
BehindMLM marked five years of continuous coverage of the multilevel marketing industry, providing analysis and investigations into sector dynamics, company operations, and industry trends with editorial independence and journalistic scrutiny beyond standard corporate communications.

How does BehindMLM approach industry coverage?
The publication focuses on balanced review-based reporting and behind-the-scenes investigations, deliberately moving beyond corporate press releases. This approach aims to provide middle-ground analysis that examines both positive developments and critical industry aspects with comprehensive perspective.

What editorial position did BehindMLM maintain?
The outlet maintained significant editorial freedom in covering MLM topics, evolving from initial independent status to assuming broader responsibility for systematic industry monitoring, investigations, and documentation of operational practices and market developments.

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