How To Change Twitter Username For A Better Author Image

Yes, you can change your Twitter username

Most authors know that it is smart marketing to have both a personal profile and a professional author page on Facebook, but what about Twitter?

Do you have one Twitter account that you are using for both personal and business?

Perhaps you started it before you wrote your book, but now you would like to choose another name or pen name that better suits your new author profile.

You can easily change your Twitter name and screen name

For any number of reasons, you might want to change the Twitter handle (profile URL) you use to align more with your current author and book marketing aims.

But you don’t need to start all over again in gaining new followers from zero with a new Twitter account. You can keep your current account, and it will not affect your existing followers, direct messages or replies and all your Tweets.

Changing your username is a far better solution than opening a fresh account.

You can change both your username (@username) and your name (Fred Smith) on existing accounts without losing your hard-won followers. Yes, a complete change of identity, but retaining all your followers, posts and photos.

I have used this change of identity facility in the past to rename an established Twitter account from an older book title to a newly released title.

By doing this, I kept all my followers, which numbered around 10k, so it gave me a great launching platform for my new title.

I did it again a year or so later for another new book, and kept around 20k followers.

Oddly enough, the drop-off rate of followers after a change of name is negligible. The beauty of the beast that is Twitter.

Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter is unique in offering this ability to change identity with such ease.

How to make the changes – step by step

These instructions are for Twitter on a desktop, but you can make the same changes on the different versions of the Twitter app.

1. Log in to your Twitter account settings and go to your profile page. Then click on the edit profile button.

2. You will now be in the edit screen where you can make a lot of changes.

Arrow number 1. The button lets you upload a new header photo. Twitter recommends an image size of 1500px by 500px.

Arrow number 2. Here you can change your profile icon (profile photo). Twitter recommends an image size of 400×400 pixels for your profile picture.

Arrow number 3. This is the important button. Here is where you can change your screen name, or as Twitter calls it, your display name. Your display name can be up to 50 characters long. This is the name people will see at the top of your Tweets.

Arrow number 4. In the three text boxes on the left side of the screen, you can change your Twitter bio, location, website address, and if you want to, below the Theme Color button, you can add your birthday.

Arrow number 5. Once you have added or changed all your information, click to save changes.

3. Now to change your username, which is your @username.

Click on your small profile image next to the Tweet button, and then choose, Settings and Privacy from the drop-down menu. (Your image could be a gear icon in certain apps.)

Once you click, you will see this screen.

Once you are in your account tab, you can change your current username.

Click into the username field and you can change your name. There is a limit of 15 characters.

If the new name you select is already taken, you will be prompted to choose another one.

You might need to be a little creative to get a new name that suits you, but you’ll get there.

Once you get the green light from Twitter for your new username, you are ready to go with your new Twitter identity and username next to your profile.

Summary

You might want to have a think about your promotional strategy on Twitter.

But it is reassuring to know that you can change your profile and name at any time and still keep all of your followers.

Good luck with your book marketing on Twitter, whoever you are!