Is it possible to add inline links (rather than bare URLs) to a message using Apple Mail?

I'd like to write messages using Apple Mail using inline links, as opposed to the "naked" URLs, so I can do something like this:

Have you visited Ask Different?

Unfortunately, the best I seem to be able to accomplish is to add the "naked" link after the text, like this:

Have you visited Ask Different: http://apple.stackexchange.com?

I've tried using ⌘ + K (or Edit → Add Link... from the menubar) to add a link, but it only gives you the option to add the "naked" link itself, and not the substituted inline text.

I'm aware that you can do this in Outlook for Mac, and the difference seems to be that Outlook formats it's messages as HTML whereas Apple Mail formats them as RTF.

Is there a simple way to accomplish this?

Yes you can. Simply select the text , right-click, select Link, Add Link and add the URL.

You're doing it fine with ⌘K. The problem is that there are two uses for it:

1. Without previously selected text:
   it inserts the "naked" clickable link
2. With previously selected text:
   it binds that text to a link