This was a tip that I learned at this year’s ITIP Ohio Google Summit – thanks to Lauren Richardson and Ashley Morrison from Indian Hills.
Have you ever wanted to collaborate with someone when drafting an email? Now you can.. with Google Docs!
This uses the recent Building blocks feature in Google Docs. Building blocks lets you add pre-formatted “snippets” to Google Docs.
To get started, create a new Google Doc, or work with one you’ve already got. Go to Insert > Building blocks and choose Email draft.
A new area will be added to your Doc. You’ll note the familiar To, Cc, Bcc and Subject fields. Fill these in as needed. Below that section, above the gray line, is the body of your email. Add text, tables, images, and more as you would in Docs.
Here comes the collaborative part. Share your Google Doc like you would any other document. Add editors, commenters, etc. They will be able to work on the draft email with you.
When you’re ready to send your email, just click on the blue Gmail icon. A new message will open in Gmail with all the info filled in and the content you created.
Simply make any changes and send!
This is a great way to work on emails with a colleague. If you’d like to see the complete process, check out this one-minute video: