diff --git a/bumpversion/__init__.py b/bumpversion/__init__.py
index 757e4f7..34c58a3 100644
--- a/bumpversion/__init__.py
+++ b/bumpversion/__init__.py
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@
 
 if sys.version_info[0] == 2:
     sys.stdout = codecs.getwriter('utf-8')(sys.stdout)
+elif sys.version_info[0] == 3 and sys.version_info[1] <= 6:
+    sys.stdout = codecs.getwriter('utf-8')(sys.stdout.buffer, 'strict')
 
 __VERSION__ = '0.5.4-dev'