Use some light compression. Download Nebula for free. Maybe add EQ if needed. Add limiter. Try the Sonnox Oxford Limiter if you can find a demo. Not my favorite but very quick. Leave some headroom at the top regardless. If you don't, when it gets converted to MP3s and shared around, it will sound God-awful (lesson learned from trying to make it REALLY REALLY LOUD!!!!). The tools needed to make a track have commercial loudness as well as some dynamics and presence is done by experts with up to a million bucks in boutique equipment. The loudness is easy to accomplish with the limiter at the end of the chain. Do not fall for making your entire track peak out. I am no expert, but I always leave headroom, even if the track is not as loud as Kanye, and you can better feel the shifts and peaks and punch of the bass drum. It then also gives you the chance to "rise to a peak" so that you leave a huge impression on people. Try it. I purposely mix intros and verses lower and add light compression and when you hear a drop on a track that has some dynamics left, it catches people by surprise and "sounds pro."
