If you run virtual or in-person events for your customers, being able to add events to their calendars is the perfect way for them to easily stay up-to-date and attend on time without having to remember everything about the event itself.
This guide will show you how to create an "add to calendar" event in your emails so subscribers can add events directly to their mobile or desktop calendars by simply clicking on the chosen item: a button, image, or text. Your subscribers will love being able to easily add your events to their calendars with this simple “add to calendar” event.
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Before you begin
Be aware that your customers may use different calendar programs. We advise including various links so clients can self-select.
Before you add links to your emails, your calendar events need the name, location, and time of the event, as well as a description and, if applicable, a URL.
Please note that if you're using Apple Calendar or Outlook, you'll need to host the.ics files on your own site in order to utilize the link in an email template. Google Calendar is the only app that does not need file hosting.
Step 1. Generate a calendar link
Google Calendar
Before creating an event, ensure your calendar is set to Public access. To do this, click the settings icon in the upper-right corner of your Gmail and then click Settings. Then in the left navigation menu, click on Calendar you will be using. In Calendar's settings menu, check to Make available to public box.
To create an “Add to Calendar” link in your template for a Google Calendar, follow the below steps.
Step 1. Create and save the event in your own Google Calendar:
Step 2. Click to edit your event and select More Actions → select Publish Event in the dropdown:
Step 3. Copy the event link:
Outlook Calendar
To create an “Add to Calendar” link in your Outlook Calendar, follow the steps below.
Step 1. Create an event via the New Items → Appointment or click on the calendar cell.
Step 2. Fill in the important event information.
Step 3. Hold and drag the event from the calendar onto your desktop so you have a .ics file
Step 4. Add your event to your ecommerce site or host it online, per your website file hosting guidelines. Guide for Shopify. Guide for BigCommerce. Guide for WordPress.
Step 5. Copy the URL for this file. For example, in Shopify, it will look like this:
Apple Calendar
To create an “Add to Calendar” link in your Outlook Calendar, follow the steps below.
Step 1. Select a date and click on the calendar cell.
Step 2. Give your event a name and fill out the event information.
Step 3. Hold and drag the event from the calendar onto your desktop so you have a .ics file
Step 4. Add your event to your ecommerce site or host it online, per your website file hosting guidelines. Guide for Shopify. Guide for BigCommerce. Guide for WordPress.
Step 5. Copy the URL for this file. For example, in Shopify, it will look like this:
Step 2. Add an add-to-calendar link in your email
Your newsletter is an excellent opportunity to get people excited about your upcoming event. Here are a few ways you can advertise your event in the email and make it easy for your supporters to sign up.
Button Item
As the number one method, we advise using Button Item. Buttons are the simplest method to encourage customers to add an event to their calendar.
For this, drag and drop a button item into your email content → customize it → add the link.
What's more, you can create a button for each type of calendar if you are unsure which one your customers use.
Image Item
You can also use any sort of image banner or thumbnail you have created for your event in your email. In this scenario, your customer will click the image and be redirected to the calendar event.
For this, drag and drop in an image item → add the event URL.
Text Item
You can also tell people to add an event reminder to their calendars by adding a link to the text. Because the links are different for each calendar, you can label each to show what calendar invite they go to.
