I'm saving the obvious shit that I assume you know already because I'm taking you seriously (how to EQ, use compressors, meticulous sound selection etc)
This maybe isn't as obvious as it seems. When you don't know a lot about production, but you do know that there are stages to making music, you can easily fall into the trap of settling for something that sucks because you assume it will suck less once you're done layering, EQing, compressing and mixing it. There's also a temptation when you're new that inclines you to move onto another part of the track before you should, because that way you feel like you're making progress. I guess I'm projecting from personal experience here, but I expect other people have come up against the same thing.
I almost feel like the root sounds you start with are more important than any process or technique that follows. And yeah, it may seem obvious once you state it like that, but doing it otherwise isn't always a conscious decision.
The other thing I was going to say is, awesome tips. Props. Number 3 particularly is interesting, kinda confirms a hunch I had about auxiliary stuff in a mix..