8 Best Meeting Scheduling Apps for Freelancers in 2023
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Being your own boss has its benefits. First, you set your own schedules. Second, you choose which projects to take on. And third, you can work from wherever you want. However, there are some challenges, especially when it comes to scheduling meetings with new and existing clients.
Since you’re no longer at a nine-to-five job, you have to organize your time and schedule meetings and appointments with prospects. Doing so via email can result in double bookings and get you stuck in back-and-forth email chains.
To help you organize your time and ensure you get to focus on the important tasks, we’ve narrowed down the eight best meeting scheduling apps in 2023.
1. HubSpot
Every freelancer has dealt with prospects or clients who cancel their appointments. Sometimes, the client wants to reschedule the appointment or just fails to show up. To avoid such mishaps, you need to make the rescheduling process as efficient as possible.
HubSpot offers a free plan that gives you access to a free meeting schedule that allows you to schedule and reschedule meetings faster. Basically, it allows your prospects to book a meeting time that works for both of you.
Related Post: 12 Useful HubSpot Tools for Freelance Writers and Writing Agencies
The free meeting schedule syncs with Office 365 and Google Calendar. As such, your prospects can always see your recent up-to-date availability.
Thanks to HubSpot’s free meeting scheduler, you’ll have complete control over your meetings and appointments. You’ll also receive notifications if a prospect reschedules, which is a nice perk.
2. Bonsai
Bonsai offers a new meeting scheduler and it’s great for freelancers. You may have multiple clients and projects to juggle, which can make scheduling meetings a time-consuming and frustrating process. With Bonsai’s scheduling tool, you can easily share your availability with clients and let them choose a time that works for both of you. This can help you avoid scheduling conflicts and free up more time for your work.
One of the key features of the Bonsai scheduler is its integration with popular calendar tools like Google Calendar and Outlook. This integration puts all your appointments and meetings in one place, making it easier to plan your workday and avoid double-booking yourself.
In addition to these features, the scheduler comes with customizable meeting templates, personalized scheduling links, and the ability to set up recurring meetings.
2. DotCal
Cancellations and no-shows are annoying. And while sometimes they are caused by genuine emergencies, more often than not, it comes down to someone simply forgetting about an upcoming meeting. To tackle the problem, you need a meeting scheduler like DotCal.
Developed for freelancers who want to simplify their meetings, DotCal comes with brandable templates. As a result, you can create and schedule meetings seamlessly by pulling prospects and clients alike into one booking page.
For example, a freelance writer often works with clients from different parts of the world. With DotCal, they can simplify how prospects and clients book meetings. Not only that, the software will automatically harmonize the time zones.
Even when clients use another meeting scheduler, DotCal integrates with a wide range of apps that are useful to freelance writers and other content creators, such as Google Meet. In addition, the DotCal app for scheduling meetings is available in free and paid versions.
3. Calendly
Calendly is one of the simplest meeting scheduler apps, perfect for freelance writers and other content creators. The scheduler is easy to use thanks to its intuitive interface. It offers free and paid plans that will help you set meetings and allow your prospects to book appointments.
As a Calendly user, you can use the set-it-and-forget-it feature by simply setting up a booking page. The booking page simplifies how your prospects make appointments with you. They can choose from a selection of meeting types and your availability and then book the appointment with you.
For example, a potential client may ask for a meeting about an upcoming writing project. If you don’t have a meeting scheduler, you may risk the chance of losing a paying client. But with Calendly, the client can book a meeting directly on your website and avoid back-and-forth emails.
Besides a booking page, you can also create intake forms, workflows for automated reminders, and feedback surveys. In addition, you can create one-off meetings with personalized links or sync Calendly with other apps.
If you just want the basic features of Calendly, go with the free version. However, if you need advanced features, you can select one of the annually-billed paid plans.
4. Google Calendar
As a freelance writer, you want to provide your prospects and clients with many meeting and appointment booking channels. The more devices you cover, the high chances of converting prospects into paying clients.
If clients are unable to book appointments with you across multiple devices, you could miss out on a new project. So, if you want to secure valuable collaborations, make sure your prospects can book appointments with you. That’s why we recommend Google Calendar, a free meeting scheduling app.
Google Calendar allows users to create and edit events. It’s also easy to share calendars and stay updated on a team’s individual schedules, which comes in handy if working as a group. Google Calendar is a free service available on the web, Android, and iOS apps.
5. Setmore
Traditionally, prospects and clients had to send an email to a freelancer to book an appointment. However, back-and-forth emails are frustrating and a freelancer or client can miss out on an appointment. But with Setmore, a free and paid meeting scheduler, prospects and clients can access your calendar directly to see your availability. From there, they can search for a free slot and book an appointment that works for them.
One reason why Setmore is perfect is that it comes with a booking page. A freelancer can use the booking page as a standalone web page or integrate it on their website.
In addition, the booking page is brandable, which means you can change the color, font, and other features to match your brand. You can even add your Instagram stream. Once you set up your booking page, clients can now book appointments with you even while you sleep, which comes in handy for freelancers who collaborate with clients from different parts of the world.
Setmore is available for free but for advanced features, like integrating with PayPal or Stripe, you can subscribe to a paid plan.
6. Motion
As a freelance writer, editor, or web designer, for example, you’ll meet lots of potential clients on platforms such as Upwork, Freelancer.com, and Fiverr. Each client is unique with different business niches and requirements, so having a centralized location to manage specific project tasks as well as appointments helps a lot.
Enter Motion, a meeting assistant that helps you handle all your scheduling and project management. Whether you prefer morning meetings or back-to-back meetings throughout the day, Motion allows you to set a daily meeting limit. If your schedule fills up, your clients will have to select another day to schedule a meeting.
Available as a web version and for iOS devices, you can try Motion for free with their 7-day trial or sign up for either an individual or team paid plan.
7. Calendar
If you’re looking for free scheduling software that allows you to create customized events, then Calendar is perfect.
As a freelancer, you know the importance of insights and statistics. Calendar can provide valuable client-related insights. For example, you can review the least booked days of the week, your peak business hours, and even the percentage of missed appointments. With such insights, you can make calculated adjustments to your availability. This will ensure a more balanced appointment load every week.
If you’re a freelancer bidding for projects on Upwork or Freelancer.com, you can send your customized calendar links to your prospects. As such, they can now book appointments with you based on your availability. Every meeting or appointment made via Calendar will show up on your dashboard for easier management and follow-up.
Choosing the Best App for Scheduling Meetings
When looking for the best meeting schedulers, look for an app that’s easy to use, customizable, and allows you to integrate with other services. You should also go for apps that offer calendar syncing, email notifications, a booking page, and real-time tracking. A lot of the time, the free version will be enough, but if you’re growing your freelancing business, you’ll get a lot more out of the paid versions of the apps, since they’ll offer more advantages than just meeting scheduling solutions.
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