You can insert an add event to calendar link to any email or webpage for free… and it’s simple to do! You’ve probably seen these before, maybe after you’ve registered for a webinar?
You sign up for the event and either on the thank you page or in the confirmation email (or both) you see icons for Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Yahoo Calendar, Apple Calendar with text that communicates “click to add this event to your calendar.”
These are the add to calendar links and the reason they matter is because it literally places your event on the leads calendar. There really aren’t too many more intimate places your business can appear than as a date on their personal calendar.
The value behind being on their calendar is that now the likelihood of that person attending your event increases because they won’t be able to forget. Your event will get a notification on their calendar. Your event will get a notification on their phone. Your event will popup on their smart watch. If you want someone to show up for an event… get on their calendar… and add to calendar links is how you do that in a one to many situation like a webinar.
What the “Add to Calendar Link” Actually Does
When you click the Add to Calendar Link it opens up the designated calendar program and shows a new event dialogue, asking you to confirm creating the event. A link that has been set up correctly will automatically include an event title, details in the description, start date, start time and end time.
When the user clicks ‘create’ it will then add that event to their calendar.
Below you’ll see a collection of four calendar links and what I see in my browser after I click on the Google Calendar option.
Where Can Add to Calendar Links Be Placed
Anywhere you can hyperlink text you can utilize add to calendar links because the links are genuine browser links. Some apps will offer fancier options such as embedded HTML which will create a button or incorporate an icon. The links on their own don’t include button styling or icons, but the bottom line is if you can hyperlink text, or an image, or a div, you can use these links.
I regularly use them on web pages and in emails.
How to Create an Add to Calendar Link for Free
There are lots of different apps out there you can pay for to help you create these links. Some of them may be worth the money depending on your purposes, but if you’re like me, you may use these links once or twice a month and the idea of paying $12.99 per month isn’t attractive.
After struggling with different free tools that either worked but were difficult to configure or were simple to configure but didn’t work, I finally found a solution that was free, simple, and it worked!
Add to Link Calendar Generator by Digital Inspiration
This free generator gives you fields for Event Title, Event Location, Event Description, Event Timezone, Start Date, Start Time, End Date, and End Time.
Once you input your details in each field, you have four calendar services to choose from:
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook
- Office 365
- Yahoo! Calendar
In addition to these four calendar services, this generator also creates an ICS file which you can use as well. ICS is the standard file type for all calendars… so if you want an iCloud option or Apple Calendar option, you can utilize the ICS file.
Types of Generated Links
Add to Link Calendar Generator gives your four different options for displaying your calendar event link.
Direct Link
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/render?action=TEMPLATE&dates=20260622T211500Z%2F20260622T214500ZHTML Badge (with image)
HTML Link (text only)
HTML Button (styled)
Add to CalendarWhen I’m creating these links 99/100 times I will use the Direct Link and either hyperlink an image, icon, div, or text. You’ll see below how I use the direct links.
Configuring Your Add to Calendar Link
Add all the details to your calendar event. Most of my events are held via Zoom so I will add “Zoom” to the Event Location field and in the Event Description I will place a message directing the user to look for an email with their join link.
After you’ve added your details, scroll down to reveal the link options (as we discussed above) and choose which link type you’ll use.
I use direct link almost always. I think the HTML button and HTML badge options look weird and the HTML text, it’s just a direct link with pre-determined text.
Adding a Calendar Link to a Webpage
The primary use case for my add to calendar links is for webinars. I include them on the ‘thank you’ or ‘confirmation’ page after a user signs up.
I use Elementor for my website and I have created a psuedo button with a border, the Google Calendar icon, and “Add to Google Calendar” text. I apply the link to the container.
When anyone clicks on that container, anywhere within the container whether it be the white space or the icon or the text, it will launch Google calendar.
I proceed to add the links for the remaining 3 items and I’m done!
Now my add to link calendar buttons are active on my thank you page. Registrants can immediately add the date to their calendar by clicking the appropriate button.
How to Add an Add to Calendar Link to an Email
Adding to an email is just as easy as adding to the website. You’ll see in the screenshot below all you need to do is highlight the text you want to make a hyperlink and paste the direct link.
I’ve added all four to my success email template. I put a pipe between each option to create some separation.
Using Add to Calendar Links in Campaign Donut
One of the best things in Campaign Donut is the ability to click to copy all text including hyperlinks and styling, and paste it in whatever email system you use and all the styling is retained.
Once your email is written and you’ve added all your links, click the Copy Text option and then paste inside of Mailchimp, Drip, Kit, Keap, Aweber, or whatever email system you use. Unless that system automatically strips styling, all of your links will be retained and when someone clicks on that link, they’ll be prompted to add the event to their calendar.
Increase Event Attendance with Add to Calendar Links
If you’re counting on someone remembering to attend your event without any type of reminder, you’re fooling yourself. The ability to provide them with a simple one-click shortcut to add your event to their calendar not only makes things easy for them, but it gives you access to all the reminders and systems they’ve created for themselves.
Think of it this way, you would never be able to get individual calendar access to the individuals who sign up for your event… but with a add to calendar link, you don’t need access. They’re doing the work themselves! You’re just giving the the shortcut to make it happen.
Give this system a try and see what type of show-up rates you get. My guess is you’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t start adding these links sooner. And with Add to Calendar Link Generator by Digital Inspiration, you’ll be thrilled at the return on investment. Remember, it’s free!
