Coaches, race directors and athletes are clearly finding blogs and social media to be the best bang for their buck these days in terms of promoting themselves and their business. There is no better low-cost way to keep in touch with clients, prospects and fans than through a blog or through Twitter. In fact, looking at Twitter these days you’ll notice a huge increase in the number of races that are up and connecting with the millions of athletes who use the service, in hopes of drawing attention to their race. One of these races, The Freihofer’s Run for Women, in Albany, NY, appeared on Twitter about a month ago and is now using the service to connect with local media and athletes who are training for the race.  The goal? To make the media outlets more aware of the race with the aim of getting additional coverage.

Not that the race needs it. The 5K women-only international event is up there with the NYC Marathon, Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon as the only races to receive a Silver Label designation from the IAAF, showing the race is produced according to the highest professional standards, attracts an elite field of athletes and draws huge media attention. The Freihofer’s Run PR group has created a group page and event page on Facebook as well so members can RSVP for the race, find training partners and compare stats.

For coaches, a blog is hands down the greatest interactive tool to communicate with clients and attract new business. Many coaches have Paypal accounts on their sites that allow new clients to purchase coaching packages directly. After an initial interview, most relationships develop over e-mail, with the coach sending workouts to his or her client once every two weeks. Swim legend Karen Burton Reeder bills herself as an Open Water Swimming eCoach and promotes her coaching business here.

And then there’s the “product.” Many coaches and athletes develop eBooks, swim cards, or relationships with vendors where, in return for advertising on their site, they’ll get a percentage of sales. These products sit on the site and earn the coach money while he or she is sleeping, basically. Granted, these aren’t easy money-making ventures. They require work promoting them and also time to establish credibility. But the sooner these entrepreneurs get started, the sooner they reap the rewards. For an example of this in action, see Kevin Koskella of triswimcoach.com.

Most elite athletes — and plenty of amateurs and age-groupers — are developing sites for themselves as well where they features their race results, future goals and their sponsors as well. The American record holder for the 50K, Josh Cox, (@joshcoxrun) is an avid user of Twitter and just got his friend and fellow running phenom Ryan Hall (@ryanhall3) on the service as well. It’s a great way to develop a fan base by sharing more of one’s personal and professional life online. You’ll find plenty of athletes fundraising as well online. Why? Because that $5,000 – $10,000 English Channel excursion isn’t going to pay for itself. Boris Fernandez is one such athlete training for the swim this summer and raising sponsorship money.

Do you have tips on how you promote your sports-related product or service online? Feel free to share! If you’re looking to launch your own athletic service or product online, or simply improve on your existing one, give us a shout below.