How to write a listing that actually helps people

The idea in one minute

Pretend a stranger comes to you with a problem and you have ten minutes to help them. You would not dump everything you know on them at once. You would ask one thing, listen, then decide what to say next. That is exactly what this form does, only the client clicks Yes or No instead of speaking.

You write your advice in small pieces. Each piece has a yes-or-no question and an explanation. Depending on the answer, the client moves on to the next piece you wrote. By the time they reach the end, they have a clear answer for their situation.

Writing your first piece of advice

Click the empty square on the left to open the writing form. You will see three fields:

• Solution question. A short yes-or-no question your client can actually answer. For example: Is your dashboard dim and does the engine struggle to start?
• Description. Your explanation. What is happening, why, and what to look for. Write it the way you would say it out loud to a friend.
• Add files. A photo or short video if it helps. Optional.

You do not need a Save button. Everything you type is kept automatically, the same as Google Docs. Stop worrying about losing it.

Yes or No: where the client goes next

Once your question and description are filled in, two buttons turn on at the bottom: Yes and No. They decide what the client sees next.

• Yes means the client agreed with your question. They have the symptom you described. Press Yes and the form opens a new empty piece below the current one. Use this to write the next step in the same path. For the car example: if dashboard is dim and engine struggles, now check the battery voltage with a voltmeter.
• No means the client did not agree. Their situation is different. Press No and the form opens a new empty piece next to the current one. Use this to write a different question for clients whose problem is something else. For the car: maybe it is not the battery, ask about the starter motor instead.

Keep going: each Yes goes deeper, each No adds an alternative. The form draws lines so you can see how it all connects.

A small example

Imagine you are a car mechanic writing advice for the question my car won't start. Your tree might look like this:

• You ask: Is the dashboard dim? Description: weak dashboard usually means a weak battery.
• If Yes, you ask next: Did you measure the battery voltage? Description: here is how to use a voltmeter.
• If No on the first question, you ask instead: Do you hear clicking when turning the key? Description: clicking usually points to the starter motor.

Three pieces of advice already cover two real situations. Add more as you go.

Closing the form without pressing Yes or No

There is an X button in the top right corner of the form. Use it when you want to step away.

• If both the question and description are filled, your work is saved and the form closes.
• If something is empty, you will see a warning: Some required fields are empty, this piece of advice will not be created. You can confirm and discard it, or cancel and keep writing.

Coming back to edit or delete

Hover over any saved piece and two icons appear: a pencil to open and edit it, and an X to delete. Deleting also removes anything you wrote underneath it, so be careful with the early questions in your tree.

Reading the colors

You do not need to memorize this, but it helps:

• Blue is what you are working on right now.
• Black is finished and saved.
• Gray is empty or unfinished, waiting for you to come back.

Jumping around with the dropdown

At the top of each row there is a dropdown listing all the pieces you wrote in that row. Click any of them to reopen it, edit the text, or look at what comes after. This is the fastest way to navigate once your tree gets bigger.

One thing at a time

While one piece is open and blue, the other empty squares are locked. This stops you from starting five things at once and leaving them all half written. Finish the open one with Yes, No, or X, then move on.

Finishing the listing

When your tree feels complete, press Save at the bottom of the popup. Your listing goes live and clients can start walking through your advice. You can come back and edit anything later. Press Cancel only if you want to throw away the last changes you just made.

Tips from people who write good listings

• Write questions a non-expert can actually answer. Is the screen black? is good. Is the GPU misbehaving? is not.
• Keep each description short. If you have to scroll, split it into two pieces.
• Use No often. A tree with only Yes paths assumes every client is the same. They are not.
• Attach a photo any time words alone feel clumsy. People follow pictures faster than text.
• End every path with a clear answer or action. The client should never reach a dead end and wonder what to do.