You vs I email checker: count you words against I and we words, and list sentences that open with I or we
In short: Paste the email and get the count of you words against I and we words, the ratio, and the sentences that open with I, we, my or our. Limit: It counts words as written and cannot tell a general you from the reader.
Paste the email and the tool counts you, your, yours and you're against I, me, my, we, us and our. It shows how many you words there are for each I or we word, and lists every sentence that opens with I, we, my or our. There is no score: you decide what the numbers mean for your email.
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Your text stays in this browser tab; nothing is sent anywhere.
- You words
- 3
- I and we words
- 6
- You for each I or we
- 0.5
- Sentences opening with I or we
- 4
3 you words against 6 I or we words: 0.5 for each.
I hope this email finds you well.
- Opens with
- I
My name is Sam and I wanted to reach out about our platform.
- Opens with
- My
We help teams send delivery emails.
- Opens with
- We
I would love to show you a short example.
- Opens with
- I
| Sentence | Opens with |
|---|---|
| I hope this email finds you well. | I |
| My name is Sam and I wanted to reach out about our platform. | My |
| We help teams send delivery emails. | We |
| I would love to show you a short example. | I |
Counts: you, your, yours, you're, you'll, you've, you'd, yourself against I, I'm, me, my, mine, myself, we, us, our and their short forms. More you than I is common cold email advice, not a filter rule, and the tool gives no score.
Next step
Reader-first copy still needs a reader.
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Sample result
A 4-sentence example has 3 you words against 6 I or we words, and 4 sentences open with I, My or We.
- You words
- 3
- Ratio
- 0.5
- Open with I or we
- 4 sentences
What this means for you
The counts show who the email is about; they do not show which addresses exist.
- You against I and we
- Ratio shown
- Openers listed
- No score
- You vs I
- Cold email
- Counts
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I check whether my email is about the reader?
- Paste the email text, subject line included if you want it counted.
- Read the counts: you words against I and we words, and the ratio.
- Look at the sentences that open with I, we, my or our.
- Rewrite the ones that can start with the reader's situation instead, and paste the email in again.
Example
- You enter
- A four-sentence email that opens I hope this email finds you well, then My name is Sam, We help teams send delivery emails and I would love to show you a short example, ending Are you open to it?
- You get
- 3 you words against 6 I or we words: 0.5 for each. 4 sentences open with I, My, We or I.
- Limits
- Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. It counts words as written and cannot tell a general you from the reader; the numbers are not a score.
Which words are counted?
You words are you, your, yours, you're, you'll, you've, you'd, yourself and yourselves. I and we words are I, I'm, I've, I'll, I'd, me, my, mine, myself, we, we're, we've, we'll, we'd, us, our, ours and ourselves. Curly and straight apostrophes are treated alike, and capitals are ignored.
The count is of words as written. The tool cannot tell a you that means anyone (as in you can) from a you that means the reader, so read the numbers as a guide.
Why compare them?
A cold email is read by someone deciding whether it is about them. Cold email guides often advise more you than I, and openings that are not about the sender. That is common practice and no mailbox provider checks it, so this tool gives no pass or fail, only the counts and the sentences to look at.
A sentence that opens with I is not wrong: some need to. The list is there so you can see how many do, and whether the first line is about you. For the rest of the copy, see the cold email copy checker.
How do I use the list of openers?
The table shows every sentence whose first word is I, I'm, I've, I'll, I'd, we, we're, we've, we'll, we'd, my or our. For each, try putting the reader or their situation first: I saw that Acme opened a second site can become Acme opened a second site. The meaning stays and the sentence is about them.
Not every sentence can move, and some should not. Keep the ones where the sender has to be the subject, such as an introduction or an offer.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Cold emailers
- Check step 1 for an opening line that is about the sender.
- Agencies
- Give a client one number to compare before and after an edit.
- Founders
- Find out how many sentences in a first draft start with I or we.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It counts words as written and cannot tell a general you from the reader.
- Only English pronouns are counted.
- It does not judge tone or clarity.
- A low ratio does not mean the email is bad, and a high one does not mean it is good.
Common questions
- What is a good ratio?
- There is no rule. More you words than I and we words is common advice. The tool shows your ratio and leaves the verdict to you.
- Does it count the subject line?
- Only if you paste it in with the body.
- Does it count the sign-off?
- Words in a short sign-off such as a name count as words, but a name is not an I or we word.
- Why is my ratio blank?
- When there are no I or we words there is nothing to divide by, so it says so.
- Does it rewrite sentences?
- No. It lists the sentences. You rewrite them.
- Is my email uploaded?
- No. It is read in your browser and goes nowhere.
Authentication and capacity are half of deliverability.
The other half is who you send to. Every hard bounce counts against the domain and inboxes you are sending from, and nothing in DNS can tell you which addresses on your list are dead.
- Bulk verification with real SMTP mailbox checks
- Hard bounces removed before a send, not discovered after
- Catch-all, disposable and role detection on every row
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