In the last couple years, new digital media publications have been popping onto the scene with intensity. We’ve seen print magazines and dailies frequently revamp, re-brand and work continuously to be more interactive, engaging and immediate.

Today we all participate in online experiences and interact with content that is up-to-the-minute, interactive, beautiful and personally relevant. There have been major shifts in reader expectations, journalistic tools and publishing business models.

These changes, aided by technology, have been driven by changes in reader behavior: we grab the iPad or smartphone when we wake up to browse the morning’s headlines, listen to podcasts of news shows and catch the replay of that clip everyone is talking about. And while there were obvious growing pains across the media landscape in the early stages of digital technology, the industry is clearly rebounding.

Success for these companies, however, is not judged by page views, number of comments or shares. These are some of the most respected names in the business — some hundred year-old companies and other young upstarts — that use technology to strengthen and fortify the relationship with readers and build trust in the brand. The media landscape has upped its game. So, what is working across this digital media landscape?

Most of us have read Harry Potter, and have imagined what the magical newspaper, The Daily Prophet, might be like with its waving people and moving pictures. Today with digital, we can experience articles, watch video clips — hear the sounds and see the highlights. Heck, we have options to listen to individually curated playlists to accompany our morning scans of the headlines. Yet, the brands that can match that incredible digital content with an equally appealing human element — they will be the ones who thrive.

Today’s news content is phenomenal in its own right and when it is paired with a card-stock mailed invitation to attend a members-only event with a publication’s award-winning photojournalist, an opportunity for a long-lasting reader relationship is opened.

Digital media winners won’t just provide news, they will develop relationships with readers and continually offer them unique opportunities to engage and feel a part of something bigger. As an example, once a new reader signs up, News UK — a British newspaper publisher and subsidiary of News Corp. — sends every new member a customized personal invitation to meet with the editor. Additionally, all members receive honest-to-goodness chocolates around Christmas and Easter. Think of the surprise and delight to once again feel such a personal connection with a daily paper.

There is also good plain fun to be had- people love to laugh. News UK’s paper The Sun used the power of social media to create a hilarious seasonal campaign. Called the “Hangover Hit Squad,” the staff literally delivered survival kits to those who complained of holiday hangovers on social media sites.

It is about relationships, but let’s not kid ourselves, it is also about economics. A bonded relationship between reader and publisher opens the doors for journalists to receive higher pay, for ad revenue to become a smaller part of the equation, and for digital subscriptions to enjoy same worth and price, if not more so, than their print counterparts.

Now content costs more than technology. Google, Facebook and other tech companies will always be ahead of the news company because they don’t have to pay for content. What is exciting in digital media is the emerging ability to create an entirely new ad model to not just economically support, but to enhance the overall experience. Ad models just got a lot more exciting with the introduction of the tablet. We’re seeing readers spend, on average, ten minutes longer reading the news on their tablet than they do with a print publication.

The model that is developing — how can we get the technology enhanced and make that truly interactive, yet non-intrusive, ad? Think of a newspaper, the best glossy experience — the ads are just as much a part of that as the articles. Cutting-edge, engaging digital advertising that flies off the page and delights the reader in a way black and white print ads just can’t — that’s the future. If we can crack that, the journalists are safe.

Good publications realize that journalism is a profession that should pay quite well, which makes news content expensive to deliver. With a free model, publications run the risk of creating a barren job market for good journalists. With the dissipation of quality journalism, the quality of content will go down, and along with it, the trust-powered relationship with your readers.

At the end of the day, people are willing to pay for great journalism — even more so if they are feel they are an intimately important part of the community. When readers are offered opportunities to develop relationships with editors, writers, photojournalists and staff or curate playlists according to what they are reading- they are significantly more engaged. So, while digital media is relatively new, the art of engaging people and creating community is a timeless art. The economics follow.

Co-authored by Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora; and Katie Vannek-Smith, CMO of News UK.