The main thing is that you don't want your wood to combust. I accomplish that by lining the bottom of the smoke box with some thick foil and poking smaller holes in it to restrict the airflow to the wood. Some folks do that and also ramp up the temperature over time. I haven't found the temp ramping to be necessary in my case. The other gold standard is to not open the smoker until your time and/or probes tell you the smoke process is complete. Every time you open the door you lose smoke, moisture, and heat and introduce oxygen.
