Custom Publishing Company

This is the part where we tell you how great we are — all of our experience (29 years in publishing), credentials (Degrees of Principals: Advertising), and our dedication to customer satisfaction (outstanding). It’s all true, but if you’d like to know who we really are, read on. Because we believe a winning custom publication takes a great partnership, and it’s hard to form a partnership without really knowing the people and business philosophy behind the company you're working with.

It all Started in 1981...

Sherry McKinley was laid off from an advertising agency after the loss of a major client, but had the good fortune of being asked to continue producing their customer publication, DRIVETIME. This became the foundation for McKinley Communications, which was officially founded in 1981. Other publishing clients came on board, and the company grew to include two McKinley sisters in addition to the founder Sherry McKinley.

If you’re lucky enough to have lived through the 80’s, you may recall the word “communication” took on a whole new meaning as telecommunications spread like wildfire throughout the globe. “Car phones” were born; satellites bounced messages to beepers, long distance went from $1 per minute to pennies per minute. The word “communications” was no longer primarily associated with companies that helped other companies communicate; it became associated with mobile phones, phone companies and long distance providers.

In 2000, we decided to end the confusion and change our name to better reflect what we did for our clients. The change to The Newsletter Company seemed like it did the job.

Over the last several years, the term “newsletter” has been diluted with the addition of electronic communication. “Newsletter” at one time clearly denoted “company publication” but now can be anything from spam email to a church bulletin or homeowners association flier...none of which we handle at The Newsletter Company.

Our business has always been — and always will be — the development and execution of high-quality printed marketing materials, mostly publications ranging from a 4-page newsletter to a 40-page magazine. We’ve done them all and everything in-between.

So as we contemplate new names going forward, rest assured that the same principals who founded McKinley Communications 29 years ago are here to help with whatever you have in mind for your company publication.

How We Work

Custom publishing, where a client is sponsoring the periodical, is quite a bit different from traditional magazine publishing where advertising is the driving force behind the publication. We’re set up more like an ad agency than a Time magazine. We work in a team approach with a Team Leader managing a staff of AEs, artists, and support personnel who are responsible for making sure each publication is produced on time, in budget and error-free. They are degreed professionals mostly with backgrounds in advertising, marketing, journalism, graphic design and PR. Most of us work 8 a.m. ‘til 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. Principals Sherry and Mary Ann McKinley oversee sales and operations, and are involved with every custom publishing program during the development and execution of the first issues.

Our culture is relaxed, friendly and definitely business casual.

Quirky? Definitely. We recycle paper clips, manilla envelopes, and hundreds of ink cartridges every year from the printers we use for proofing. We ring a bell when we make a sale, and everyone comes out to celebrate.

Tight fisted? Absolutely. We run a lean operation and question every invoice that doesn’t match the purchase order. We keep costs down and pass the savings on to you. We travel if you tell us to budget for it. We’re very value-conscious as are many of our clients. We’re very Irish (McKinley) so we’re full of libation and usually quite lucky.

Are we perfect? No. Anybody who tells you they are is not telling the truth. The real question is: When a mistake happens, how do we handle it? At The Newsletter Company, we quickly apply all the necessary resources to get any mistake corrected and our client completely satisfied.

Is every client we’ve worked with still on our roster? No. Any company who has been in business for any length of time will tell you the same thing. But unlike other companies, we’ll provide you with the name of our past clients as well as our current clients if you’d like 360° references.

One thing is for certain: We believe we are the absolute best at what we do, and every member of our staff enjoys their job and takes pride in their work.

If you like what you’ve read, call Sherry to discuss your project. If it sounds a bit dramatic, call Mary Ann. We’re almost exactly opposite, but complement each other quite well. Either way, if you’re considering outsourcing your custom publishing project, give us a call at 800-828-7198.

Custom Publishing Company — Who We Are