Guaranteed Editorial Commisions: What are they, and Why are they Important?

In the PR world – nay, in life – nothing is guaranteed. Got a great story? There’s no guarantee the public will care. Designed the perfect piece of content for your Insta story? There’s no guarantee it’ll go viral. Made your toddler the perfect lunch? There’s no guarantee she’ll like cucumbers this week…

So, when you hear something like “guaranteed editorial commission”, there’s always going to be a sense of scepticism attached. But here’s the thing: experienced PRs know when something’s a done deal. There’s a lot you can count on when you’ve got a great PR team on your side, and guaranteed editorial commissions are just one of them…
That is, if you can secure a commission in time…

Because, truth be told, it’s complicated. And expensive. And sometimes, you have to throw the rulebook out the window – risking it all for the promise of future coverage. But the payoff is totally worth it, and if you know how to play it, you’ll win more often than not.
Let’s break it all down, starting from the beginning.

What is a guaranteed editorial commission?

A guaranteed editorial commission is an agreement where a PR professional (and their client) is guaranteed a piece of editorial press coverage (a commission) in return for providing a service of some kind.

And in travel PR, this is usually an organised press trip at the expense of the client.

For example, if a tour operator arranges a seven-night trip to Asia (flights included) for a journalist, then the PR would make it clear to the journalist that a guaranteed editorial commission is required in return. When the journalist is receiving something that is of significant value, it’s totally justified for the client to receive something of equivalent value in return.

A trip like this would cost the client a significant sum of money – so they’d expect high value press coverage in return. It’s the norm for this press coverage to be outlined exactly, and agreed upon in full, prior to confirmation of the trip.

This is very much an “I scratch your back and you scratch mine” situation; the travel brand provides a service, and the journalist promises to thank the client by providing guaranteed editorial coverage.

But at such an expense, you might be wondering if it’s even worth it.

Why are guaranteed editorial commissions so important?

At the end of the day, travel brands employ travel PR experts with one goal in mind: to secure press coverage.

Travel brands understand the importance of being seen in high quality publications – to increase brand awareness and share of voice among their competitors. Today, they also understand the value of increasing web traffic, social media attention and SEO rankings through links from major outlets.

And they rightly feel that it’s important that they’re guaranteed a return on their investment.

By investment, we don’t just mean the money they pay their PR agency, but the money they invest into the journalist for press trips, too.

Guaranteed editorial coverage helps clients get what they want. And sure, they want coverage, but they want to have some control over the nature of it. The PR’s job is to know their client inside out, including what their goal is, so the PR will liaise with the journalist to establish the specific angle and extent of coverage. For example, will the coverage be online only or in print, too? Will it be a dedicated piece of coverage or will other travel brands also be included in the piece? Will an image be published to accompany the article? It is also important to try find out when the coverage will appear, as this can align with certain strategic objectives, particularly around booking periods. Knowing the timeline for publication helps to plan accordingly to maximise the impact of the coverage on the target audience.

The PR will establish the exact extent of the coverage to ensure the client is happy with what they’re receiving in return.

With all this said, it’s important to understand that travel brands (and PR teams) can’t control what journalists ultimately write. This is crucial to acknowledge in any PR strategy. Journalists form their opinions based on personal experiences, whether that’s their stay at a hotel or their time at a destination. These experiences shape the tone and content of their writing, and it’s important to remember that reviews, by nature, are subjective and meant to build trust with readers.
Editorial coverage carries more weight because it reflects genuine opinions, not paid endorsements. If a brand seeks to fully control the message and narrative, then paid opportunities, such as advertorials, would be the way to go. However, with organic editorial, there’s always an element of unpredictability, and that’s what gives the review authenticity.
But There’s another factor that needs to be considered in all of this; who does the journalist work for? Are they a staff writer, or a freelancer – and why does this matter?

Freelance journalists vs staff writers

It’s important to note the difference between freelance journalists and staff writers, especially when it comes to guaranteed editorial commissions.

Staff writers are journalists who work in-house, whether it be a glossy travel magazine like Condé Nast Traveller, or a leading newspaper like The Times or The Telegraph.

Freelance journalists work for themselves. They pitch to Editors who they (likely) have a relationship with, but as they’re freelance it means the publication needs to pay another party to get the story. When an Editor is granting a staff writer a commission, it’s not costing them anything because they’re employed at the publication – but when they’re granting a freelancer a commission, they’re allocating a budget to that journalist and their story.

All staff writers need is the green light from their Editor, so they’ll pitch the angle and story, and get permission to attend a trip in return for producing the coverage. This means that it’s typically a smoother and somewhat easier process to land a guaranteed editorial commission with staff writers. They’re pitching a story to their colleague, who they’re likely to be sitting in the same office with, so naturally it’s all a bit quicker to turn around as well.

On the subject of turnaround time, it’s also important to note that freelancers will usually shop around to get their confirmed commission. So, for example, if a journalist approaches The Times newspaper but they’re not interested, then the journalist will try The Telegraph – then maybe Condé Nast Traveller, and so on, until they get a bite.

This can take time and typically takes longer than when working with a staff writer.

But all of this doesn’t mean you should avoid working with a freelancer. We love working with freelancer writers – it’s in their best interest to secure as much coverage for your client as possible.

If a freelance journalist takes part in a trip hosted by a travel brand, they’ll be doing so in return for a guaranteed editorial commission. That means they’ll get paid by a publication for that one guaranteed editorial commission.

However, if after the trip they decide to approach other publications with alternate angles off the back of the trip, it means they’ll secure further commissions, and make more money from just that one trip.

And the travel brand gets more exposure, more links, more views – and more value for their investment. Good things come to those who wait… and put faith in freelance writers!

Is it all based on trust, or can there be proof?

A big part of being a PR professional is having fantastic relationships with journalists. PRs have a list of journalists that they work with often and have great relationships with, and in these cases, trust is high and proof isn’t always needed.

But if a PR is working with a journalist they’ve never worked with before? They might want a little bit of a safety net to fall into. And in these cases, it’s perfectly normal to ask a journalist to provide what’s called a commission letter – a letter or email from their Editor, confirming the commission they’ve granted to the journalist in writing.

It’s normal practice to request this, so a journalist doesn’t usually mind providing a commission letter from their Editor.