WorkingNotWorking: Now Gone, Go-To for Creatives

WorkingNotWorking, a go-to site for creatives, is shutting down at the end of June 2025 and merging into Fiverr, the bigger freelance marketplace that bought WNW four years ago.

What was WorkingNotWorking?

WorkingNotWorking was a marketplace for high-end creative talent ranging from filmmakers to designers — content producers, user experience managers, marketers, artists, writers and other creatives of all types.

However, as of June 30th, creatives on this site have the option of joining Fiverr or being part of Fiverr’s “unlisted talent pool.” What this means is the site will reach out to you directly, when it receives a request that matches your skills.

Joining Fiverr

Notably, Fiverr is a far more structured marketplace than WorkingNotWorking. Where freelancers were able to see “job feelers” in your areas of expertise on WorkingNotWorking, Fiverr’s marketplace generally goes the other way. Instead of finding customers, you list what you do and customers find you.

Frankly, this can be an advantage, since you may spend less time looking for work and more time doing it. You also don’t need to negotiate your pay with each client, as you likely did with WNW. With Fiverr, you simply list what you do and the price for your “package.” In some cases, you can list an hourly rate.

Clients who find you simply buy a relevant package or agree to pay you for work by the hour at your stated rate.

Challenges

The challenge of Fiverr is that it’s a busy marketplace loaded with established (and new) talent. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle.

Moreover, while your skills may be wide-ranging, Fiverr offers of work are not. To do well with this site, you need to create a defined “package” of work. A client looking for a slightly different service may see your profile, but may not have a good way of altering what you offer for what they need.

You can communicate with potential clients, but only through the platform. And while Fiverr is a good place to find work, unlike WNW, it’s not overwhelmingly flexible.

How it works

Generally speaking, when you sign up with Fiverr, you say what you do; how quickly you deliver; and what your service costs. Customers buy your service, putting their payment in escrow with the site. After you complete the job, and the client marks it as received, Fiverr releases payment to you, minus a 20% site commission.

The site does have a separate option for “pros,” who have extensive experience. For WNW alumni, this is likely to be your best bet. Pros not only have the ability to charge more for their work, they’re invited to bid on business gigs that come in to Fiverr.

However, you must apply to be a Fiverr pro. The site makes the final determination.

WorkingNotWorking alumni

Given that WorkingNotWorking was a marketplace for high-end creative talent, you are likely to meet the cut for Fiverr’s pro network. But you will be joining a likely much larger pool of creative directors, designers, artists, filmmakers, advertising executives, writers, comedians, illustrators and others.

Although there is no guarantee you’ll get a job — or even be accepted to list — there’s no cost to sign up as a creative.

Brands searching for you

However, what may be best about the site is that it highlights portfolios of the creatives who sign up here, neatly broken down by category.

So, if you’re a design director, you know that brands who need your skills can find you and the detailed portfolio that you created on the site. That makes it worthwhile to spend whatever time is necessary to make your profile on this site extraordinary.

Pay

WorkingNotWorking suggested that creatives set pay expectations between $50 and $150 per hour in the U.S. However, it stays out of the negotiating between you and potential clients. It simply provided the online meeting ground where you and potential clients can talk about projects.

At Fiverr, you’ll need to price your packages in advance — or set your hourly rates. While you can generally create a series of “add-ons” to your offer, which you’ll also price, there’s very little negotiating. That makes creating your offers and setting your prices a little more challenging, since it’s often a take-it-or-leave-it situation.

Few complaints

That said, the main complaints we see about Fiverr are the same ones people mentioned about WNW. Specifically, some people get no work from their free listing. It is a crowded marketplace. But it’s also a good one. It’s worth spending the time to figure out how to make the most of a listing here.

Recommendations

We’d definitely recommend that you sign up with Fiverr. You can read our full Fiverr review here.

Other highly recommended sites for professional writers, editors, illustrators, marketers and designers are: Creatively, FreeUp, Onward Search and FlexProfessionals.

What their users say (from Reddit)

I’m like around member ~5,000 on there. The job board and the type of clients posting jobs are really good. Much better than just going on LinkedIn or somewhere else to find a job. Recruiters also love WNW cause there’s a vetting process to get in or get invited. For me, as someone that needs to find people while it’s not an immediately stamp of approval, I consider someone with a WNW profile to be someone I should notice over other candidates.

But that doesn’t necessarily translate towards said candidate being a good candidate. Met a lot of people who had profiles on there who were dicks. Met a couple who had inaccurate portfolios. But that sort of is per the course of creatives in our industry.

 I’ve not had any work come through the site so I’m not sure listing there will be of much help. Though they do have a job board for those looking for full time and part time positions.

Updated 2/22/2025