diff --git a/state/remote/remote_test.go b/state/remote/remote_test.go
index fa25c8aed..6db877fbd 100644
--- a/state/remote/remote_test.go
+++ b/state/remote/remote_test.go
@@ -3,11 +3,19 @@ package remote
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/state"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/terraform"
 )
 
 // testClient is a generic function to test any client.
 func testClient(t *testing.T, c Client) {
-	data := []byte("foo")
+	var buf bytes.Buffer
+	s := state.TestStateInitial()
+	if err := terraform.WriteState(s, &buf); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err: %s", err)
+	}
+	data := buf.Bytes()
 
 	if err := c.Put(data); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("put: %s", err)