A little bit more detail on some of the tips that have already been offered.

  • I usually keep the volume level so that the meters in Ableton are only 50-60% of the max.
  • The final output should never clip. Always give yourself extra room to work in. You can make it loud in the mastering stage.
  • If you've done the above you do not need to use normalization on the output.
  • Output to a 24bit wav for mastering. DO NOT add dithering. Dithering is only necessary for the final mp3 or 16bit wav, and should be the last thing you apply to a fully mastered track. It will change how your song sounds slightly.
  • Master your track. It's better to have someone else do it, but you are at a big advantage if you know how to master yourself. You learn a lot that you can use to make your initial mix even better.