You probably know the basic stuff already but some producers actually don't and it often shows in their music. Do a Google search and learn more about the music genre you are producing. After you have the basics of that, you can learn a few things about the music theory. Piano/guitar lessons for example.

This is important, especially in Hip Hop! Try different sounds and see how well they go with the rest of your song. A good way to use this technique is by going through the different patches of your software. After you hear something you like start tweaking and see where you go with that. This is a very quick way to obtain a different sound.

This is one of the most important things you can do to make your beats sound good. Get rid of the overlapping frequencies, offer your tracks some space. Concentrate to keep the natural frequencies for every sound. For example, cut the high frequencies from your bassy sounds.

Incorrectly mastering a beat after you worked so hard on it is a very common mistake amongst producers. Mastering is the process of polishing your creation, be sure you take the time to do it properly because it often makes the difference between the amateur and the professional.