About Ben Matthews

Ben Matthews

About

I’m a consultant and digital generalist with about 20 years of experience across communications, strategy, and digital.

I’ve worked in agencies, in-house, and as a freelancer and I built this site because I kept building the same tools over and over again for different clients and thought they might be useful to other people too.

Everything here is free. The templates are practical and built from real work. The articles explain how to use them.

My work sits across strategy, digital communications, and social impact. Most of it involves helping purpose-led organisations work out what to say, who to say it to, and how to make it land.

I’m the co-founder of Empower Agency, a strategic digital communications agency for purpose-led organisations. We’ve worked with clients including UNICEF, Amnesty International, and the UN Refugee Agency, developing campaigns and strategies that achieve both reach and impact.

Alongside the agency, I take on consulting work directly, usually strategy, digital, or communications projects for organisations that need an experienced hand rather than a full team.

Before building Empower, I cut my teeth at Hotwire, a tech PR agency, working with the Financial Times, Microsoft, and O2. From there I stepped in-house to direct communications for FutureGov, a government-tech startup trying to fix how public services work.

I was previously the founder of Bright One, a volunteer-run communications agency for the Third Sector, whose client experience includes Amnesty International, Centrepoint, St Dunstan’s and the London Green Fair. That experience earned me PR Week’s Young PR Professional of the Year, but more importantly, it taught me how communications could amplify voices that matter.

I also spent time as a freelance social media strategist, juggling clients including London 2012, American Express and the World Wildlife Foundation, with each project teaching me something new about reaching people where they are.

The several years I spent freelancing on social media strategy, campaign planning, digital, etc, is where most of the tools on this site came from.

I’ve previously served as a trustee for CharityComms, the membership organisation for charity communications professionals, and Camp Quality, who provides holidays for children with cancer and other life-limiting conditions.

Whether I’m plotting Empower’s future or digging into the details of a client’s toughest challenges, I’m always looking for that strategic thread that connects what needs to be said with how people actually listen.

Contact

You can email me at ben@empower.agency

Expertise

Agency development

I’ve been building Empower as a strategic partner rather than a supplier. That means prioritising client impact and team development over growth for its own sake, and being honest about what we’re actually good at.

Strategic communications

Most of my work involves translating complex social and environmental challenges into communications that people actually respond to. That means developing messaging that connects what an organisation needs to say with what its audiences want to hear, and being clear about the difference.

Digital campaigns

Empower’s work spans strategy and delivery: from the initial brief through to campaigns running across social media, content, and digital advocacy. I’m involved in both the thinking and the doing.

Purpose-led organisations

I’ve worked almost exclusively with NGOs, charities, and mission-driven businesses. Resource constraints, stakeholder complexity, and the pressure to show impact shape how these organisations communicate, and I understand that from experience, not theory.

Now

  • Director at Empower, a strategic digital communications agency. Clients include UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, Amnesty International, WWF, GivePanel, Open University, Full Fact.

Previously

  • Awarded Young PR Professional of the Year and is the youngest ever PR professional to be featured in PR Week
  • Founder of Bright One, a volunteer-run communications agency for the Third Sector, whose client experience includes Amnesty International, Centrepoint, St Dunstan’s and the London Green Fair
  • Founding member of Twestival, a series of fundraising events using Twitter, which raised over $2 million for numerous charities
  • Founding member of 33 Digital, an international digital PR and marketing agency, where he managed accounts for O2, Microsoft, and the Financial Times among others
  • Former board member of CharityComms, the professional body for charity sector communications
  • Volunteer product manager at Sunday Assembly. We pitched to Y Combinator, read about my experience.

Side Projects