diff --git a/mqtt_logger/__init__.py b/mqtt_logger/__init__.py
index 99e3721..34d9e00 100644
--- a/mqtt_logger/__init__.py
+++ b/mqtt_logger/__init__.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def main():
                 if not os.path.isdir(logdir):
                     os.makedirs(logdir)
                 log = open(logfile, 'a')
-                log.write(msg.payload + '\n')
+                log.write(msg.payload.decode("utf-8") + '\n')
                 log.close()
         except KeyboardInterrupt:
             logging.exception('Ececution interrupted by Keyboard Interrupt')