Creating an add to calendar link for your marketing emails is a powerful way to ensure your event stays at the top of your audience’s mind. Unlike .ics files, which can be clunky and faulty, add to calendar links provide a seamless, one-click solution for adding events directly to various calendar platforms. 

This guide will walk you through why add to calendar links are the best way to get your events and appointments on people’s calendars and how to integrate add to calendar links into your marketing email campaigns easily using AddEvent. By the end, you’ll be ready to streamline your event invites and boost event attendance with minimal effort.

.ics files aren’t the best solution

Traditionally, this is done with an ICS file—called iCalendar. This is a common calendar format that typically uses the .ics file extension and is widely accepted by most calendars. (Not to be confused with Apple’s iCal, which shares a similar name, although iCalendar files also work there.) 

These files are typically shared via marketing email attachment or website download but still require manual import into the calendar app. The process becomes particularly important when dealing with time zone differences since the calendar app must interpret and potentially adjust the event’s timing, often misinterpreting start time and end time.

Generating these .ics files is pretty tricky for the average tech user to master. It involves creating the necessary calendar data and formatting it to meet the specific requirements of different calendar applications. 

.ics files are not user-friendly

.ics files are not particularly user-friendly, especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy. Creating these files can be cumbersome, and figuring out how to open them often leads to a frustrating experience. The process isn’t intuitive and usually requires multiple clicks just to add an event to your calendar.

For instance, if you’ve tried downloading a .ics file on your iPhone but don’t use Apple Calendar, you’ll know the frustration. Your phone will default to importing the file into Apple Calendar, regardless of whether you are trying to open Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar. 

Imagine being part of the Millennial workforce, dealing with this annoyance yourself—and then consider how much more confusing it might be for someone less familiar with technology, like your parents. Cue the inevitable tech support call!

.ics files don’t always successfully end up on calendars

Getting a calendar event onto a calendar using an .ics file involves several manual steps—often four to seven—compared to just one with more streamlined methods. This creates multiple friction points that can deter users from completing the process.

Steps for adding an event to your calendar with an .ics file:

1. Download the .ics file.
2. Open the .ics file (standard iCalendar format).
3. Select the .ics file from your computer.
4. Choose which calendar to import the .ics file into.
5. If you want to use a new calendar, set it up first.

Note: If the .ics file is downloaded as a .zip file, additional steps are required:

1. Locate the .zip file on your computer.
2. Extract the .ics file.
3. Import each .ics file individually.

If something goes wrong and the .ics file doesn’t load correctly into the calendar, you risk losing a potential attendee before they even get the event onto their calendar.

.ics calendar files don’t play nice with every calendar platform

Compatibility issues are a significant drawback of .ics files. Each calendar platform — Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook Calendar — interprets .ics files differently, leading to event display and functionality inconsistencies.

Even though many calendar apps support the .ics standard, each has its quirks. Issues can arise with:

• Time Zone Handling: Different apps may interpret time zones in .ics files differently, leading to discrepancies in event timing.
• Recurrence Patterns: How recurring events are defined and displayed can vary between apps.
• Custom Properties: Some apps may not fully support custom properties or extensions added to .ics files.
• Attachments: Handling file attachments within .ics files can differ, with some apps showing them inline and others as separate links.

To make sure your events display correctly across various calendar platforms, you have to spend significant time testing your .ics files on multiple platforms — a time-consuming process.

Personalizing the calendar link for each email client increases the chance that your subscribers will add your event to their calendar (and attend and convert!) since it’s just one click away. Making someone add an ICS file to their calendar requires more steps, and you might lose some folks along the way.

Why you should use add to calendar links in email campaigns

To make sure that guests show up to your next event, include an add to calendar link in your email campaigns. With that, subscribers can add your events to their own calendars, helping them avoid calendar conflicts and allowing them to set up their own reminders and maximize the chance of attending your event.

Thanks to AddEvent’s add to calendar links, you no longer have to waste time and energy customizing .ics files with the correct event information, calendar application formatting, timezone, etc. 

What are add to calendar links?

Add to calendar links (ATC links), sometimes called calendar event links, are a simple and efficient alternative to .ics files, offering a streamlined way to add events to your calendar with just a single click — no downloads or manual imports needed.

That’s right—just one click, and the event is instantly on your attendee’s calendar!

Creating add to calendar links for emails (or add to calendar buttons for your website and landing pages) is easy. With AddEvent, you can automatically generate unique event links for each event and share them in your email campaigns, event pages, or social media posts. Whenever someone clicks the link, the event is seamlessly added to their preferred calendar platform.

Add to calendar links are easy for everyone

These add to calendar links make it incredibly easy for attendees to add your events to their calendars, resulting in a much smoother user experience. Less frustration means a higher chance that they’ll actually attend your event.

With AddEvent, you can customize your event details fully, ensuring that all important information—like the event title, description, location, start time, end time, and time zone—is shared with your users right from the start.

And even if different calendar platforms don’t always work well together, AddEvent’s add to calendar links do! These links are compatible with various calendar applications and email clients, ensuring consistent functionality no matter what platform your attendees use.

Add to calendar links can reduce attendance drop-off

Let’s look at the numbers: fewer clicks to add an event to a calendar translates to a higher likelihood of attendance. AddEvent customers have reported an average 30% increase in attendance rates when using add to calendar links or buttons!

How to create add to calendar links for your emails

If you’re looking for a way to generate add to calendar links, look no further! Think of AddEvent as your personal calendar link generator.

First, create or log in to your AddEvent account

1. Sign up for an AddEvent account if you don’t already have one. Choose from our free Hobby plan or one of our paid plans, which have many additional features. Learn more about our plans on our plans and pricing page.

Now, it’s time to create your event in AddEvent and enable RSVPs

1. Navigate to the dashboard in your AddEvent account.
2. Then, click the “Create” button and select “Event” to create a new event. 

3. Enter your event details, including the event name, time, date, location, description, etc. Then click the “Create” button to publish the event landing page.

4. Now, go to your Event Details Page & find the Add to Calendar Link section. 

5. You can also customize the way these add to calendar links look — check out this handy video. 

6. Click the “<>” icon or the “Copy” button to find the source code for these add to calendar links. 

5. Copy the source code and then head to your email platform. Depending on whether you’re using a platform like HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, etc., the way you insert this code will differ. 

6. Paste the code into your email template.

7. Viola! You are all set with your calendar links using AddEvent as your calendar link generator.

Find other ways to share your event with potential attendees

Thanks to AddEvent, there are plenty of other ways you can share your event. This includes:

• Add to Calendar Buttons: This is for easy integration on your website with a beautiful CTA button.
• Event landing page URLs: Automatically created for easy sharing on social media or SMS text messages.
• Direct Links to Calendar Services:
  • Apple Calendar
  • Google Calendar
  • Office 365
  • Outlook
  • Outlook.com
  • Yahoo Calendar
• Embeddable events: Add an embedded event to your website and let your users easily view your event on your own website.

With AddEvent, the possibilities of maximizing attendance with our event management and event-sharing tools are endless. So what are you waiting for? Get started with AddEvent today!

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