Diogenes, the moral watchdog of Athens, was one of the best marketers of Ancient Greece. He stood apart from the “normal” philosophers of his time, including Marcus Aurelius, Aristotle, and Socrates. He donned a raw way of living; a way of living according to nature intended, and all cynics practiced this.
Why the hell am I talking about a dirty old man who lived almost butt-naked in ancient Greece? Because he’s the epitome of what it takes to be a scrappy marketer. The OG of taking what you have at your disposal and making it happen. Diogenes wouldn’t have become the “father of cynicism” if he weren’t an inbound marketing machine by nature.
Diogenes the Marketer
You can’t help but pay attention to a man who would roam the streets in broad daylight wearing a single sash and carrying a lit lantern. Diogenes was quite a character, but he was himself, nonetheless. The lit lantern was for seeking virtues in people, or, in his words, “searching for human beings”. The local people deemed him the moral watchdog. He wanted people to see through the vanities of humans and for them to live according to nature.
By modeling his principles and barking about his virtues, he gained a following in Greece. This is what inbound marketing entails: by creating valuable content and experiences tailored for the right audience to be pulled in. Diogenes did not tailor himself to market to the affluent, but to attract those ready to have virtues or turn a new leaf.
Let’s frame it a different way: you’re a small business owner who sells custom-shaped candles that just got into content marketing. You’re writing blogs, newsletters, and social media captions, but nothing seems to be gaining you traction. The content appears to be “generalized” or “just about candles”. Nothing is tailored to your market. Switch gears from “best smelling candles we sell” to “how custom candles are made” or “best custom candles for Mother’s Day”. You’re being more you; more a part of your market, which leads to attracting the right buyers.
Be like Diogenes — be authentic to your brand and tailor your content to those you wish to attract.
Not your average marketing
The ancient Cynics were not cynical in the modern sense. They were NOT “doomers” who moped around all day and remained pessimistic no matter how blue the sky was. They were ironists, but more importantly, they were realists. Their way of life was that of “doing”. By showing people what it meant to be a Cynic by being a Cynic.
On top of that, the Cynics had an ethos that tied in with the “less is more” attitude. That ethos was putting up with what they had and making do with it. Doers who made it happen regardless of what was at their disposal? Sounds a lot like scrappy marketing to me.
One occurrence recorded by an ancient biographer recalls Diogenes seeing a child drink water from his hands, instead of a bowl, and he immediately threw his bowl away, exclaiming: “A child has vanquished me in simplicity!” I’m not saying throw your bowl away, but I’m saying if you never had the bowl in the first place, are you willing to drink from your hands?
You’re a small business owner preparing to launch and add a new service to your menu. Let’s say you’re a hairstylist expanding into esthetician services. You plan on using the majority of the coming quarter’s budget on the new tools and materials required to provide the new services. Getting the materials would be great, but then how would I market them with no more budget left? This is when you get scrappy.
Scrappy is about stretching that budget as far as you can. You can sit around and mope about not being able to market your new services, or you can sit down and figure out how to stretch that budget as much as possible.
Be like the Ancient Cynics — get down and dirty with your budget. Get scrappy.
How you can market like a Cynic
Marketing like a Cynic would be a perfect move for a small business to make, especially nowadays. Here are a few ways you can apply Cynical Marketing to your business:
Be authentic to your brand and audience
Diogenes didn’t have an agency budget or even a logo, yet he fueled an entire philosophy movement. Being authentic to your brand helps attract the right audience, and you will have no problem at all convincing them that you’re the right choice.
Stick to your brand’s differentiator
Diogenes’s teachings were absolutely valuable, but do you think they would’ve gotten as much attention if he weren’t an absolute buffoon? No. Stake your claim and own it, that’s what your brand owns in your respective market.
Get scrappy with your budget
Learn how to do more with less. When you’re the underdog, it can be feast or famine. Playing smart and planning your budget ahead of time is a good call and helps you stretch it even further.
You don’t need a big budget to build something real
The ancient Cynics were scrappy, authentic, and impossible to ignore. Sounds like a marketing strategy worth stealing.
If you’re ready to start building a brand that punches above its weight, reach out today.
FAQs
Q: What is Cynical Marketing?
A: Cynical Marketing draws from the philosophy of the ancient Cynics — Diogenes especially — to describe a scrappy, authentic approach to promoting your business. It’s about being genuinely yourself, attracting the right audience, and making the most of what you have instead of waiting for a bigger budget.
Q: How can a small business be more authentic in its marketing?
A: Start by narrowing your content to your specific market, not the broadest possible audience. Instead of writing about your product in general terms, write about the specific problems your customers have and how your product solves them. Authenticity in marketing is less about personality and more about relevance.
Q: What does “scrappy marketing” actually mean?
A: Scrappy marketing means stretching your budget and resources as far as they’ll go without sacrificing quality or strategy. It’s about prioritizing high-impact, low-cost tactics — organic content, word of mouth, strategic positioning — over paid campaigns you can’t sustain.
Q: Did ancient philosophers influence modern marketing?
A: More than most people realize. Diogenes of Sinope, founder of ancient Cynicism, built a following entirely through his behavior and values — a model that maps closely to how inbound marketing works today. He didn’t chase people. He attracted them by being undeniably, consistently himself.
Q: Is inbound marketing a good strategy for small businesses?
A: Yes — especially for businesses with limited budgets. Inbound marketing (blogs, organic social, SEO content) builds trust over time and attracts buyers who are already looking for what you offer. The tradeoff is that it takes longer than paid ads to gain traction, but the leads it generates tend to be of much higher quality.
Sources and Further Reading
This post draws from two works by M. D. Usher, Professor of Classical Languages and Literature at the University of Vermont. If the Cynics caught your attention, both are worth your time.
Gurus of Degrowth: Say Hello to the Ancient Cynics M. D. Usher — Princeton University Press. The article that started it all. A sharp, readable case for why the Cynics are more relevant now than ever.
How to Say No: An Ancient Guide to the Art of Cynicism Selected, translated, and introduced by M. D. Usher — Princeton University Press, 2022 A full dive into Diogenes and the Cynics — their teachings, their antics, and why they still hold up 2,400 years later.
Original Diogenes header image by Gandalf’s Gallery on Flickr.