diff --git a/emailtunnel/__init__.py b/emailtunnel/__init__.py
index 202d7ee..5845aef 100644
--- a/emailtunnel/__init__.py
+++ b/emailtunnel/__init__.py
@@ -232,7 +232,10 @@ def compose(cls, from_, to, subject, body):
         message.add_header(
             'Date',
             datetime.datetime.utcnow().strftime("%a, %d %b %Y %T +0000"))
-        message.set_body_text(body, 'utf-8')
+        if six.PY3:
+            message.set_body_text(body, 'utf-8')
+        else:
+            message.set_body_text(body, None)
         return message