diff --git a/plugins/outputs/socket_writer/socket_writer.go b/plugins/outputs/socket_writer/socket_writer.go
index 7c4660bc8..8b0f56acc 100644
--- a/plugins/outputs/socket_writer/socket_writer.go
+++ b/plugins/outputs/socket_writer/socket_writer.go
@@ -137,6 +137,7 @@ func (sw *SocketWriter) Write(metrics []telegraf.Metric) error {
 				// permanent error. close the connection
 				sw.Close()
 				sw.Conn = nil
+				return fmt.Errorf("closing connection: %v", err)
 			}
 			return err
 		}