How to Maximize Your Muscle Growth

1.  Set a goal. How much muscle do you want to gain? 10lbs, 15lbs, 20lbs? Decide and don't stop until you reach it. If you don't have a goal to reach for, stopping is too easy.
2. Eat more than you are currently. Growing muscle takes extra calories. Find your base daily caloric intake (there are plenty of calorie calculators online), and add 500 calories to it. You don't have to be a calorie counting Nazi, but just make sure you are getting enough.
3. Eat healthy foods. Unless you have an extremely fast metabolism don't think eating junk food and fast food will do you any good. They will just add excess fat.
4. Eat a protein source at every meal. Good sources are eggs, lean beef, tuna, chicken breast, turkey, beans, Greek yogurt, and milk. You should get at least 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day. Eat a protein source within 30 min of finishing a workout and 1 hour before bed. 
5. Increase your carbohydrates. Most of you calories should come from carbs. Good sources include: brown rice, whole wheat bread, oatmeal, sweet potato, and quinoa. Eat a carb source before and after every workout.
6. Don't avoid fats. just make sure they are the healthy kinds. As a rule if its liquid at room temperature (ie: olive oil) it's healthy.
7. Lift heavy weights. You need to push your muscles. Make sure that the weight is not so heavy you can't use proper form or lift it for at least 5 repetitions.
8. Do not train excessively. Have atleast 3 rest days a week. Train different muscle groups on different days. Keep weight-lifting portion of your workouts to 1 1/2 hrs or less.
9. Do these exercises as part of your routine!- deadlift, squat, bench press, and shoulder press.
10. Don't rely on supplements. There are hundreds of them out there. Most are a waste of money. You can use creatine, protein powder (if you need help getting your minimum protein), glutamine, and a pre-workout supplement (only is you need the extra push in the gym). For general health add in a multivitamin ans fish oil pills.

Follow these tips and you are off to a good start. Remember, though, everyone is different. some people see success doing very different things than I mentioned. Find what works best for you., and Good luck!