How Moon Phase Studios Scaled to £1M with Email Marketing & Seasonal Strategy, with Hayley Jones (episode 595)
Hayley Jones is the Artist and Founder at Moon Phase Studios. The studio exists to empower its customers to become more attuned to the moon through art, books, and rituals. It was founded in November 2020 when they went from zero to £200k in 8 just weeks! Now they sell via their Shopify store & Etsy store doing over £1million a year.
In this episode, Hayley shares how the business has evolved from a fast-growing startup into a mature, highly seasonal brand with a loyal customer base. She breaks down the strategies behind their success today—from email-first marketing and pre-orders to finding a breakout product and building a business that thrives despite its “peaky” nature.
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Dive in:
[05:14] Launching the 13 Moon Journal
[09:36] Pre-order strategy and benefits
[11:52] Building the Initial Team
[14:59] Challenges with US fulfillment centers
[18:31] Exciting 2026 customer-driven projects
[22:34] Listen to Hayley’s Top Tips!
Own Your Audience—Email Will Outperform Paid Ads Over Time
Moon Phase Studios proves that email is not just a support channel—it can become your main revenue driver. While Facebook ads helped them grow early, email now delivers more consistent results. Their list has nearly 100,000 subscribers with very high open rates. The key is how they write: personal, story-led, and human. They treat emails like conversations, not promotions. For eCommerce brands, this is a reminder that owning your audience beats renting attention from ad platforms.
A “Peaky” Business Model Can Work—If You Plan Around It
Most founders try to smooth revenue across the year, but Moon Phase leans into its seasonality. Their biggest sales happen in Q4, and they accept that reality. Instead of fighting it, they design their operations around it. Quiet months are used for product development and planning. Busy months are focused on selling and fulfilment. This kind of clarity reduces stress and helps teams prioritize what actually matters.
Pre-Orders Solve Cash Flow and Operational Pressure
Pre-orders are a major lever in their strategy. They bring in revenue months before peak season. This improves cash flow and funds production upfront. It also spreads out fulfilment, reducing pressure during peak months. Customers even get a small discount, which increases conversion. For many eCommerce brands, pre-orders can be a simple but powerful way to de-risk inventory and demand.
Product-Market Fit Takes Time—But One Product Can Change Everything
The business didn’t succeed because every product worked. In fact, many early ideas failed to gain traction. But the launch of the 13 Moon Journal changed everything. It became their best-seller and core revenue driver. This shows the importance of testing, iterating, and staying close to customer needs. One strong product with clear differentiation can outperform a wide but unfocused catalog.
Bringing Operations In-House Can Increase Profit and Control
Moon Phase initially outsourced fulfilment, even internationally. But over time, this added complexity and reduced margins. By bringing fulfilment back in-house, they gained control and improved profitability. They could also create a better customer experience with more flexibility. This move worked because they had a small SKU range and manageable scale. It’s a strong reminder that outsourcing is not always the most efficient long-term solution.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Meta and email marketing
Tool Top Tip
Carbon Top Tip
- Bringing fulfilment in-house to cut unnecessary shipping and waste. This while also removing plastics and steadily improving packaging and processes to reduce environmental impact.
Interview links
- Check out Moon Phase Studios
- Listen to Episode 386 when Moon Phase Studios was first featured on the show
- Hayley on LinkedIn
*Thank you to Craig Thomas for the guest introduction!
Related Episodes
- Email Marketing with Chris Orzechowski Author of Bestseller “Make it Rain” (episode 278)
- ID your seasonality, getting ready for Q4, Facebook Ads and Klaviyo with Simon from UXB Skincare (episode 288)
- How Stone Arrow Jewellery Achieved 20% YoY Growth with Loyalty Schemes and Email Marketing (episode 507)
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