Today I was going through some old books on my shelf, deciding which ones to donate or get rid of. Among the dust and memories, I opened one of my old Microsoft Access books and found a little time capsule: a copy of one of the free CDs I used to give away back in the early 2000s. As soon as I saw it, I laughed because it reminded me of one of the most bizarre (and admittedly sneaky) marketing techniques I ever tried, something I used to call reverse shoplifting.

Back then, when I first started making computer tutorials, most people didn't have high speed internet. Streaming videos wasn't really a thing, and YouTube wasn't even born yet. If you wanted to share your work, you burned it onto CDs. So that's exactly what I did. I'd painstakingly burn my tutorials onto CDs, slap a label on them, and get them out into the world.

But here's where the reverse shoplifting comes in. I wanted to get my tutorials into the hands of people who would actually use them, people already interested in learning Microsoft Access, Excel, or other computer skills. So I came up with a unique idea. I would sneak stacks of my CDs into Barnes & Noble and other bookstores. I'd casually browse the shelves, find books about Microsoft Office or programming, and slip one of my CDs inside.

The goal was simple: someone would buy a book, take it home, open it up, and, surprise, find my CD. Hopefully, they'd pop it into their computer, watch my tutorials, and decide to visit my website. It was guerrilla marketing at its finest.

Now, before you judge me too harshly, let me clarify: I wasn't stealing anything. I wasn't damaging the books, and I wasn't stopping anyone from buying them. I was just adding a little bonus content. Did it work? Well, yes. I actually got a few sales from it. And when you're just starting out, every single sale is like winning the lottery.

And I was just a young kid at the time... let's see, I started doing this in 2001, so I was [gasp] still in my 20s. LOL.

Finding that CD today brought back all those memories. It's funny to think about how much the world has changed since then. CDs are practically extinct now, and if you tried reverse shoplifting today, you'd probably get caught on a security camera and have some explaining to do.

But back then, it was a quirky little way to get my name out there. And hey, it worked. So if you ever find yourself flipping through an old Access or Excel book and discover a random CD tucked inside, you might just be holding a piece of my marketing history.