How to Use and Manage a Google Group for Email Communication

This article explains how to manage and use a Google Group to send and receive emails as a team or department. Google Groups allows you to email everyone using a single group address (like department@maine.edu or department-group@maine.edu). 

Instructions

Getting Started

  1. Go to https://groups.google.com
  2. Sign in with your @maine.edu account
  3. Click on My Groups, then click the group you want to manage

Adding Members to the Group

  1. From the left menu, click Members
  2. Click Add members
  3. Enter the email addresses (comma-separated if multiple)
  4. Optional: Add a welcome message
  5. Choose a subscription type (we recommend "All email")
  6. Click Add members
INFO: For optional group memberships (not required participation), you can invite users instead by toggling "Directly add members" off and clicking Send invites

Setting Member Roles

You can assign different roles:

  • Owner - Full admin access (only owners can delete the group)
  • Manager - Can moderate and manage members/settings
  • Member - Can participate in email discussions

To change someone's role:

  1. Go to Members
  2. Click the dropdown next to the user's role
  3. Select Owner, Manager, or Member

Who Can Send Emails to the Group

To control who can email the group:

  1. Click Settings
  2. Under Permissions > Posting Permissions
  3. For "Who can post", select:
    • All group members - Recommended for normal team communication
    • Anyone on the web - Only if external users need to contact the group
    • Managers only - For announcement-only groups

Test the Group Email

  1. Open Gmail and create a new message
  2. Send a test email to the group address (e.g., department@maine.edu)
  3. Confirm that all group members receive the email
  4. Ask someone to reply to verify replies, also go through

View Group Messages in the Web Interface:

Members can see a complete archive of group emails:

  1. Go to https://groups.google.com
  2. Click the group name
  3. View the Conversations tab for the message history

Add Subject Prefix or Footer (Optional)

  1. Go to Settings > Email options
  2. To add a prefix (like  [Advising Team] ), enter it in Subject prefix
  3. To add a footer (e.g., a signature or group instructions), check Include the standard Groups footer
  4. click Save

Remove Members

  1. Go to Members
  2. Check the box next to the person you want to remove
  3. From the Actions menu, click Remove from group

Environment

  • Google Groups

 

Print Article