HOW TO ...

3. Add a TimeDriver link to your email signature
Popular email clients such as Outlook, Gmail, Hotmail, Eudora, Yahoo! Mail and AOLmail let you create an email signature that is included in every email message. By adding a schedule link to your signature you can make it easy for people to schedule time with you.

For the purpose of this tutorial we created a sample activity called "Virtual Office Hours" for a fictional consultant named Stuart Holman.

Check out the sample activity at http://my.timedriver.com/8R1YS.

When you click on the TimeDriver link above you are invited to schedule a 30 minute phone call with Stuart at selected times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Try it! Now, take a look at Stuart's email signature below, which references the same TimeDriver link. Try it! Eureka - you get the same result!



Here's how it works. (We'll show you how to add a schedule link in Outlook 2003, but the same approach applies to all email clients.)

1. In Outlook 2003, click on Tools, Options and then choose the Mail Format tab
   
   
2. Click on Signature then create a New signature or Edit an existing signature. (For this tutorial we will create a new signature.) Enter a name for the new signature and click Next.
   
   
3. Enter signature text with enhancements such as bolding and italics then click and drag to highlight the words "click here". Next, right click on the highlighted text and choose Edit Hyperlink.
   
   
4. Type or paste the TimeDriver schedule link into the Hyperlink dialog box and click OK. (You'll need to click OK on each higher-level dialog box to complete the process.)
   
   
5. Finally, select the new (or newly edited) signature to apply for new messages and/or for replies and forwards and then click OK. That's all there is to it!