How should a new D2C brand prioritise channels — creator, SEO, paid, or email?

Year 1 D2C brand channel prioritization with ₹5L budget: Month 1–2 (prove conversion): Google Search Ads — capture existing demand for your category. ₹15,000–₹20,000/month. Optimise your product page for conversion. Prove that traffic converts. Month 3–4 (build social proof): 2–3 micro creator deals. ₹40,000–₹60,000 total. Primary goal: get content assets and first testimonials, not massive reach. Month 5–6 (scale what works): if Google Ads are converting, increase budget. If creator content works in ads, whitelist and boost. Email: start building a list from day 1 — zero cost, highest ROI channel long-term. SEO: start basic product + blog SEO month 1 (low cost), compound returns in 6–12 months. What to avoid year 1: celebrity creators (expensive, hard to measure), brand awareness campaigns without conversion proof, spreading budget equally across all channels.