Following the intensity of the December Marathon 2024, we in the snowy world of Michigan began looking for a new target market for our “family business”—book distribution. We stumbled upon a massive market that was hiding in plain sight: Amazon.
Through our year-long efforts, we have successfully pushed Srila Prabhupada’s magnificent translation almost to the top of the charts. Now, we need your help to finish this race and claim the #1 spot. (Read to the end to find out how!)
When we first looked, we were shocked to find that the Bhagavad-gita As It Is (BGAII) was nowhere to be found among the top 5 Gitas on the platform. However, we were inspired by the potential. Our research showed that more than 10,000 copies of the Bhagavad-gita are sold on Amazon.com every month. That represents 10,000 souls actively searching for Krishna’s message. Tragically, because BGAII was selling only about 100 copies a month, most of these seekers were ending up with impersonal or “New Age” commentaries.
A Gift for a Growing Community
Why did we decide to take this on? The Harmony Collective is a relatively new community, still in what feels like its “toddler days.” We face the typical struggles of a young center, but we have found that Srila Prabhupada is always there for us. He has sent us sweet devotees, good association, and exciting projects throughout our decade-long journey, never letting our efforts go unnoticed. We saw this Amazon discovery not just as a coincidence, but as a special personal gift from our grandfather, Srila Prabhupada, to our tiny preaching efforts in Michigan—a chance for us to add the cherry on top of his glory.
We immediately took it upon ourselves to change the status quo. We revamped the listings with high-quality photos, updated the descriptions, optimized keywords, and took ownership of polishing BGAII and other Srila Prabhupada titles on Amazon.
These efforts boosted sales to a few hundred per month, but we soon faced a bigger hurdle: the price. We are competing against titles that are heavily subsidized or produced cheaply; in fact, the current bestselling translation by Eknath Easwaran is produced in-house by Amazon.
Our goal became clear: Make Bhagavad-gita As It Is the #1 Bestseller in its category.
To achieve this, we reached out to larger temples and generous devotees for support. Thanks to the incredible cooperation of ISKCON Los Angeles, ISKCON Silicon Valley, ISKCON Dallas, and individual supporters like Chaitanya Das and Paramesvara Das, we were able to stand toe-to-toe with the popular titles. They provided strategy, sponsorship, and encouragement.
The result of this collective effort? Bhagavad-gita As It Is is now a Top Three Bestseller in the Gita category and holds the #1 Bestseller spot in two other categories.
The Final Push
In December, we took this effort to the next level. We want to claim the top spot and replace speculative translations with the authorized word of Krishna, delivered through His dearmost representative, Srila Prabhupada.
What is our plan? We have launched a targeted ad campaign to bring BGAII directly to prospective buyers. We are actively soliciting reviews and refining the book description to be more attractive to the Western mind. However, despite these efforts, we cannot win this battle alone.
Here is how you can be part of this digital sankirtan:
- Write a Review: The Amazon algorithm loves engagement. More reviews equal more visibility and sales. Click here to review the Gita.
- Fuel the Campaign: To compete with cheap bestsellers, we must subsidize the price. When we sell a Gita for $9.99 on Amazon, we recoup less than a dollar. Furthermore, we are investing more than we earn back into aggressive advertising to push the book up the charts. We need your help to sustain this momentum. You could donate books or laxmi.
- Join the Strategy Group on WhatsApp to send us ideas, prayers, love, feedback, hear monthly reports, and support the mission.
We are confident that Srila Prabhupada’s Gita is destined to be the bestseller. The only question is whether we will play a role in this story or not
By The Harmony Collective
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