if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}

	return &sarama.ProducerMessage{
		Topic: target.args.Topic,
		Key:   sarama.StringEncoder(key),
		Value: sarama.ByteEncoder(data),
	}, nil
}

// Close - closes underneath kafka connection.
func (target *KafkaTarget) Close() error {
	close(target.quitCh)

	if target.batch != nil {
		target.batch.Close()
	}

		return err
	}
	logJSON, err := json.Marshal(&entry)
	if err != nil {
		return err
	}
	msg := sarama.ProducerMessage{
		Topic: h.kconfig.Topic,
		Value: sarama.ByteEncoder(logJSON),
	}
	_, _, err = h.producer.SendMessage(&msg)
	if err != nil {
		atomic.StoreInt32(&h.status, statusOffline)
	} else {
		atomic.StoreInt32(&h.status, statusOnline)
	}
	return err
}